Running in the Dark
by MisoSoop
Summary: Dallas Winston died young and violent. After his death, he finds he's been given a second chance, but only if he does as he's told. Too bad it involves watching over an emotionally disturbed girl who might not want his help, even if he decides to give it.
1. Prologue

_Another thought child from Miso. For those that have seen my V for Vendetta fic, be patient, there are some kinks in plot that I'm trying to figure out. Until then, I hope this tides you over. For those who haven't seen my VfV fic. Go read it. Now. Really...do it. Alright, this is just a prolouge and since it's 2 in the effin' morning, I'm not gonna start the first chapter. You will see Leann and Julie again later. Leann is based of an RPC I have. Julie is based loosely off of my friend Clair. Sorry if Dallas is OOC. For those that have written outsider fics before, he's actually really hard to write for. (Thanks a lot Pony/Hinton. You just **had** to make him a hard character to figure out.)_

_I don't own anything related to The Outsiders and I'm not making any money from this. All I own are the original characters of: Julie, Leann, Alice, Tony, and Alice's friends and family who play a bit more minor roles. But they're still mine. If you feel the urge to draw fan-art, do so. Really, it'll make my day, but give me credit. Ya know, "This is (insert name here) from MisoSoop's story on Running in the Dark (or The Outsiders, inspired by my story...or something...yeah.) _

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**Running in the Dark**

Prologue

"Are you sure that's him?"

"I'm almost positive. I mean, really, where else have you seen hair that bright?"

"Why hasn't he woken up yet? Do you think he's still alive back there? Maybe he's only in a coma! We can't wake him up, we'd kill him! He's only half way here!"

"No, wait, look. He twitched."

The two girls crouched lower, watching the boy as his hand twitched slightly. They really wanted him to wake up so they could get him off the ground. They had places to be too.

"Come on, you can get up faster than that. You aren't handicapped."

He groaned and opened his eyes, which were a cold blue, and glared at them. "Where am I?" he snapped. It wasn't as threatning as it should have been. His voice was surprisingly weak.

"Well, maybe if you weren't so snappy I'd tell you. I mean, really, you could be nicer. We don't _have_ to tell you."

He looked up at her, surprised. Apparently, he wasn't used to people arguing with him. But his glare soon hardened. "I didn't ask you for your help to begin with. You were the ones hovering over me in the first place," He said bitterly, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"We try to help all the new people here. The faster they're up and running, the faster they can do their job," the other girl explained. She had a heart shaped face, which was framed by light brown hair. At least, some of her hair. The only part framing her face was her bangs, which were long, near her chin. The rest was pulled back in what he guessed was a bun. She had gray eyes and her skin was pale, though there was a healthy blush in her cheeks. He, however, noticed her lips and her chest.

"Well," he began, a mischevious smile crossing his face. "Maybe you _can_ help me. I've been a bit lonely and since you seem so willing maybe we could have a _private _talk," he suggested, leaning toward her and touching her leg. She moved her leg, her face red.

_'Man, if she ain't a breeze...'_

"Don't talk that way to her!" The first girl snapped. Her face was more rounded and was framed by springy, sandy blonde curls. The color reminded him of Soda's hair. She was darker than her friend as if she got outside more than her. Her eyes were hazel and round, contrasting her friend almost perfectly. "We aren't like that. Now, are you Dallas Winston or not?"

He smirked and watched the blushing girl as he answered. "Who want's to know?"

"Obviously, I do."

"Yeah, I'm him. Why do ya need to know? Meetin' me some dream of your's? Who are you anyway?"

"The one you were trying to get some action with is Leann. I'm Julie. Now get up, you have a job to do."

"Nah, I gotta get back to the gang," Dallas said, standing up and dusting his jacket off.

"Dallas," Leann began quietly. Dallas shivered slightly; He wouldn't mind her saying his name somewhere else. "I'm not sure how I can tell you in an easy way...but-"

"You're dead, Dallas."

xxxxx

Dallas froze, staring at both of the girls. He didn't feel dead. At all. He had felt Leann's skirt underneath his hand when he had touched her and he had felt the ground and his jacket. He felt the need to see the gang again. The want he felt when he had been looking at Leann.

"That has to be the worst lie I've ever heard," Dallas said bitterly. "If you wanted me to stay-"

"Dallas, shut up and stop being so full of yourself!" Julie snapped. Leann grabbed her friend's arm, a worried look on her face as Dallas visibly tensed, his face looking meaner than it had before. "If you would care to listen, or maybe remember what had happened to you, you would've known that you're dead already! And trust me, even if Lee were going mad with her desire for some sex, I doubt she would bother with you!"

"Oh really?" Dallas asked walking up to the two girls. Julie's eyes flashed something for just a second, before going back to their original fury. Leann looked terrified. "And just how do you know what Leann wants, Miss Julie? Has she told you? In one of your late night chats while you fantasize about her, is that it?" Dallas hissed, in Julie's face.

"Dallas-"

"You arrogant little-"

"Tell us Lee, who would you bother with?" He asked, turning his head to focus on the brown haired girl. Leann looked surprised, staring up at the white-blond hood. But her surprise faded as her lips pressed into a firm line. "Is it a secret?" He whispered leaning in, his breath dancing across her ear and her neck. She shivered.

"Stop it," Leann muttered, gently pushing him away. "You're dead, Dallas. Didn't you notice that you weren't in a familiar place? That none of the people milling around were familiar?"

Dallas stared at her for a second, before looking around him. The houses weren't there and niether were the familiar streets he terrorized. It was just a field, with trees and people milling around, most of them his age or younger. Occasionally, they would talk to each other, others were hugging or staring ahead. But none of them were familiar faces. His brain finally caught on. Leann and Julie...he had never seen them either.

"...Where am I?"

"This is where we go when we die. Well...kids anyway. And don't give me the"I ain't a kid" thing.You are and you'll deal with it. This is a step towards heaven. But we have to repay for our sins first. "How do we do that?" you may ask. We protect people."

"Guardian Angels? That's us," Leann piped up, adding to Julie's speech. "Kids always get the extra chance. So, really, there are more-"

Dallas raised an eyebrow. "More what?"

"I have to go. Julie can explain," Leann said, before fading away. Dallas stumbled back.

"What the hell? Where'd she go?" Dallas demanded, glaring at Julie.

"She _is_ a guardian angel you know. She has someone to watch. A little boy. I think he's mentally challenged or...something. I dunno. I see her only when we come back here. Her job's in Illinois. Mine's in Oklahoma, actually. You _might_ see her on your job. But we have to match you up first."

Dallas was hardly listening. _'So I really did die...I can't remember...but a girl suddenly disappearing like that. That wouldn't happen if I were alive. And I don't dream...maybe I should start," _he thought absently. Julie sighed and shoved him lightly.

"Come on, we have to get you matched up," she said impatiently. Dally stood where he was, in no mood to comply. Dead or not, he wasn't going to become some push over. Not for her or anyone else. Julie seemed to understand, because she huffed and crossed her arms.

"Dallas. I can't just do this for you. You have to stop being a lazy bum or you'll be stuck here forever. Or be sent to hell. I'm not sure. But, I'd hate to be stuck _here._ This is all it is, Dallas. An empty field with different souls wandering around. Now do you want your job so you can get out of here or not?"

Dallas winced slightly, taking one last look around the field. There were so many people wandering around with lost looks on their faces. But they all looked calm...maybe that's why he hadn't beat Julie up yet (A lot of people must be thinking "But she's a girl!" My answer "It's Dallas fuckin' Winston. He don't care"). But, he also had an unsual feeling that he had died for _some_sort ofreason...one that he needed that job to get out of here for.

"Hurry up then, broad. You seem to be in such a hurry, so let's hurry," Dallas snapped. Julie seethed as she walked off to the far end of the field. Sitting on a rock was a huge leather bound book. The leather was old, and the book looked like it was falling apart. Some pages were a little older than the others, but most of them were new, which puzzled Dallas.

"The pages don't get old," Julie said, bitterness in her voice. It was obviously pointed toward him, not the book. "If they did, they'd be falling out of the book. So, when someone dies, they're name just disappears and is replaced almost instantly with a new one. You may see it happen when we find your match, the names switching out; it's really amazing to watch and, usually, it's how we know when someone new is coming. Most of the time, though, we just happen upon them like we did you.

"Don't worry. I know the book may look huge, but all you have to do is open the book. It'll get to the right page on it's own. Leann's happened right away. Mine took a few minutes. The time it takes to find a partner varies from person to person. Do you have any questions before I push you up to that rock and you open that dingy thing?" Julie asked, her curls bouncing as she turned her head to look at Dallas.

"Why haven't I tried to hurt you yet, but you seem to have a temper worse than mine right now?"

"Ah. When you get here, you're still getting used to having some feeling back again. Gaurdian Angels aren't ghosts. We're dead, true, but we can feel emotional pain, anger...love. I'd rather be a gaurdian angel forever than be stuck in one place. If I'm good enough, I'll get that chance..." Julie said wistfully. Dallas studied her for a moment.

"Does that mean people see you?"

"Oh, no. I mean, sometimes we can choose to live normal lives, and people can see us then. But when our match needs us, they don't see us. They have the feeling of comfort and can hear us, but they don't see us. I know that Leann actually lets her match see her sometimes and talks to him a lot. He keeps it a secret though. He doesn't want to share any more of his life.

"You can smoke and such when you get down there. You don 't need to eat and drink, but if you have a normal life or just feel like it, you can. And I wouldn't suggest having sex. Angel's are a bit ill-equipped," Julie said with a wry smile, before shoving Dallas forward toward the book. Dally could feel a small spark of anger rise up, but it was gone just as soon as it had come and he couldn't even feel frustrated about it.

He sighed and shook his head, his actions alone screaming that he thought this was ridiculous. But Julie was standing behind him rather impatiently so he put his hands on the cover and flipped it open. The pages flipped, so fast it seemed like they never settled down and a strong breeze caught his white-blond bangs and blew them out of his face.

Dallas was feeling a bit impatient after a few minutes when the pages still hadn't stopped turning. Julie had yelled over the wind (which had been getting stronger, as if the book were becoming for frantic by the second) that she had to go and check on her match. She said not to worry. He'd show up where he need to when his match was found.

Finally, the pages slowed and it was a light breeze that caused his bangs to ocassionally flutter in front of his eyes. The pages stopped and he stared at the page, a few of the names fading and others being replaced. But, one had a faint glow to it.

_Alice Lillian Tate, August 18, 1951, Chicago Illinois, 16 years old..._

Dallas had found his match.

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_"...ain't a **breeze**." A good looking girl, basically. The want Dallas feels towards Leann is pure lust. That's pretty much it. Nothing deep._

**_To be continued! _**


	2. Dallas and Alice

_Alrighty. Second/first chapter up. Dally's and Alice's name's rhyming was actually unintended. I just liked the name Alice, I wasn't going for what sounded good together. But I was able to deal with the rhyming, since they aren't going to be a couple. Thank you for my one review, stardust104. this chapter is for you, because you found the story interesting. _

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Chapter 1: Dallas and Alice

Dallas looked up at the house in front of him. It was tall and narrow, packed in between the other houses on the block so they could all fit. The siding was a pale cream color, and the windows sported antique red curtains, the same color as the front door.

He knew Chicago was a big city. Dallas had figured it out when he saw how many cars, cyclists and ridiculously tall buildings there were, and even though the sirens never seemed to stop here, it seemed to be a nicer place than most cities. Sure, the houses were weird, and a few times he had seen a bum pushing a shopping cart or sitting by a sign holding a cup, but he supposed this was an okay place to grow up. As far as he could tell, the only division was between the people who lived here, the people that worked here and the bums.

But something stuck out about this house, besides the red door. There was a bright flower box underneath only one of the windows on the upper floor, and unlike the other rooms, the curtains were dark blue.

_"So, this is where you work?" _

Dallas spun, and saw Leann standing next to him. _"I don't work in Chicago, but Tony is visiting a friend of his mother's who you'll meet. Mrs. Tate. I could tell you a bit about Alice, if you like." _

_"Why does-" _Dally paused. His voice sounded the same. Far away, whispy, almost like a whisper.

_"The voices, right? Even I don't know why our voicesare like this exactly, but it definately has something to do with being what we are. So, if you ever hear some one's voice like this again, you can probably safely assume it's a Guardian...or a ghost. _

_"Alright! Here's Alice's room!" _Leann said with a smile. Dallas blinked in surprise. Apparently appearing in places in the blink of an eye was a trick of the trade. _"The boy in the wheel chair is Tony. Don't mind him. He **might** be able to see you, but I'm not sure. It's like he has a sixth sense or something..."_ She said wistfully.

_'So, Alice is the one drawing...'_ Dallas thought absently to himself as he walked over. He noticed that Tony was watching him and that Leann was standing behind the wheel chair, a hand on his shoulder. Alice was hunched over a bright wooden desk, sitting in a somewhat uncomfortable looking chair. She had a curtain of brown hair, which had fallen over her shoulders and was shielding what ever she was drawing from view. He noticed that every so often she would pause and Tony would lean forward. He usually nodded in approval.

He took the time she was drawing to look around the room. A few clothes scattered on the floor and a few stuffed animals on her twin bed, which had a light blue comforter and white pillows. The head board was wood, a lot like her desk. The floor was hard wood, but in the middle of the room was a cream colored rug, though it's color was fading a bit and turning gray. On the wall near the end of her bed, which was on the wall opposite the door, a large full size mirror hung above a white dresser and scattered on the frame of the mirror were assorted photos.

Dallas glanced back at Alice, who to him so far was only a back and a curtain of hair with pale skin, before walking over to the mirror. He wasn't surprised when he didn't see himself in the mirror, but it still creeped him out, so he tried his best to ignore it. A few of the pictures were just scenary: flowers, ponds, fields.

Others were of people: Tony was there, with his mother, a picture of another brown haired girl, and someone that could have been Alice was grinning at him, hugging a shorter oriental girl with bone straight, black hair with a ribbon in it and darker skin. The oriental girl was pretty and it wasn't that obvious as to where she was from. Her chocolate eyes were almond shaped and her eyes were wide open, but her nose, skin and hair...they had led him to the conclusion of her ethnicity.

If the other girl _was _Alice, her brown hair was done up in braids, which were at the back of her head and hung over her shoulders. She was pale, almost like a china doll because her lips were so pink compared to her skin. She had a pretty smile, with white teeth that were pretty much perfect. But, she looked like she didn't get enough sleep and he could see the beginnings of dark circles under her black eyes. He also noticed something else about her eyes...most people could read anyone by their eyes, but her...they were so dark you could barely decipher the pupil from the rest of the color, let alone read them. But maybe it was because she was in a picture.

"B-boy," Tony stuttered, bouncing excitedly in his chair. Alice paused and looked at him and Dallas was able to see the profile of her face. She had a nice profile, her nose normal and her chin protruding the way it should; but Dallas noticed her eye. It was black and the dark circle was showing more than they it was in the picture.

"Yeah, the boy in the picture is you Tony. You know what the other one is, right?"

"Yes. B-boy not Tony," He said, bouncing again and pointing at Dallas. Alice looked confused as she turned her upper body to look at him.

"There's no one there Tony. Are you playing tricks on me again? It's not nice to do that Tony."

"Leann. Boy, boy."

"Leann isn't a boy, Tony. Calm down. What are you trying to say? You aren't making any sense."

_"I guess he can see you," _Leann said, only slightly surprised.

_"Well, what the hell should I do about it?" _

_"Nothing...Alice will know your there and that'll be that. Nothing bad is going to happen." _

"Go to mirror. In front of mirror."

Alice sighed as she pushed back her chair and stood up. "This better not be another one of your jokes Tony, or I'll be upset," Alice said as she walked to the mirror. Dallas was looking around, unsure of what he should do. He wasn't afraid; He would never be afraid of something like this, but it made him a bit nervous. Would she walk right through him?

"Here?"

"Touch. Touch. In front of neck, touch," Tony said with a grin, clapping his hands. He was obviously having a lot of fun with this game. Alice sighed again, though this one was softer as she raised her hand to her neck then reached forward. Gasping, she quickly stumbled back. Her arm hadn't been able to fully reach out in front of her. It had stopped and she had hit something cold.

"What is it Tony?" Alice asked, her voice shaking. "What's there?"

"Boy. Leann."

"Tony, I don't understand. Is it a boy or is it Leann?"

"Leann. Boy is like Leann."

Alice stared at Tony for a moment before looking back up at Dallas. He scratched the back of his neck and looked down for a second, before slipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket. His ice blue eyes were watching her intently, but he wasn't sure if she could see him.

Dallas looked back at the mirror and noticed the picture of the other brown haired girl again. She was sitting on a bed, her gaze locked on something else, but he recognized her. It was Leann.

_"They can see us in pictures? I thought that only worked with ghosts," _Dallas said, looking at Leann as he pointed to the picture with his thumb. Leann looked up and smiled a bit.

_"Yeah. Tony told her to take a picture of her bed, so she did. I didn't realize I would show up in the picture. Tony's a clever boy though." _

"Like Leann?"

"Angel."

Alice looked back up at the mirror with a look of understanding on her face. "He's an angel? I don't have any colored film Tony, can you help me draw him?" she asked, walking to the desk and grabbing a book, a pencil and some paper. Tony wheeled his chair in front of the wall opposite the mirror and Alice sat beside him. Dallas sat down on the edge of the dresser, the heels of his boots resting on the floor, creating a seventy degree angle with his legs and the dresser. His hands were still in his pockets and he turned his attention to Leann, so his face was slightly turned.

_"How accurate is she gonna be able to get with just that kid to help?" _Dally asked, wishing he had a cigarette as Alice began drawing. Tony was telling her little details. He spoke clearly when he wasn't too excited, like he had better control over his mouth and his voice. The shape of his face, how he was sitting, where he was looking, his hair style, while Alice tried her best to re-create it.

_"Pretty accurate. She's drawn a picture of me before she took that photo with Tony's help. It's hanging up in his room, above his bed. So it's like I'm always there, even when I'm back up there. _

_"Do you want to know more about Alice?"_

Dally shrugged, trying not to change his postition to much. It would probably frustrate Tony and Alice would have to start over.

_"She has an older brother, but he's out fighting the war. I'm sure you know about it," _Leann began, pausing as Dally nodded solemnly. The war had already been going on for a long time, but American boys had just recently started getting shipped out to help in Vietnam. _"That's one of the reasons she has trouble sleeping. She worries about him all the time and so does her mother. Her mother's name it Jean, by the way. _

_"Her father was sick and died a few years ago. Another reason why she had trouble sleeping. She would have to stay up late some nights and help her father, when her mother and brother were working. But her mother has been supportive and kind, so she's been handling his lost quite well. Alice is...cautious, to say the least, having lost many friends to drinking and driving, or just them simply losing touch, she no longer becomes attatched to people. Her mother actually worries about her not getting out enough a lot and Alice feels guilty about it. _

_"Her friends are Tony, Linda, Connie, Christine, and Andrew. It may sound like she doesn't have that many at all, but these are only her closest friends. She actually knows a lot of people. You've seen Connie already, in that picture. Connie is actually giving Alice piano lessons and has been for quite a few years. But Alice is better with normal string instruments. Violins, cellos, that sort of thing." _

_"So why does she need me? She sounds like she's perfectly fine," _Dallas demanded.

_"Because she's lost Dallas. She has no idea where she's going and sometimes doubts who she is. You have to help her find that..." _Leann said as she looked down at Alice and Tony.

"There. Is that right Tony? Is that him?"

"That's him! That's him!"

"He looks kind of mean..." Alice muttered, staring at the picture. She held it up in front of her and turned it toward the mirror. "Whaddya think? Did I capture your image or what?"

Dallas moved forward and crouched down, looking at the black and white picture. Leann was standing beside him. _"Holy shit..." _Dallas muttered, his mouth hanging open slightly.

_"I told you she could do it. Alice is a girl of many talents. And so are you. Here, take your index finger and write your name in the corner." _

_"Are you stupid? You can't write with a fuckin' finger." _

_"Just do it."_

Dallas sighed and touched his finger against the paper, lightly writing his name in a typical guys hand writing. Alice's eyes widened as she turned the picture back to her and read the name. "Dally. Look Tony. His name is Dally. You think it might be short for something?"

_"Dallas," _Dally said lazily as he sat down on the floor, scratching the back of his neck again. _"It's short for Dallas." _

"That's a nice name," Alice whispered as Tony held the picture, grinning. "Guess what Tony. You're Tony and Leann, and I'm Alice and Dallas. Isn't that funny? Our names rhyme."

Dally watched as Tony laughed and Alice smiled, looking a bit shaken up. But she had heard him and for Dally, that was a good first step. Maybe this gaurdian thing wasn't so bad and in the mean time, he could try to remember how and why he died...maybe Alice would be able to help. _'Yeah. I'll be out of here in no time at all.' _


	3. Dallas Breaks a Routine

_Alrighty! Third/Second chapter up and running! And all in one day! Er, I guess I should have warned people about the swearing in the last chapter. Dallas swears once again in this chapter but I can't remember how often or where._

_Anyway, this Chapter is dedicated to my good friend KaidaHitomi, who's too lazy to post anything, but is my bestest story (and general) stalker ever. _

_A small piece is also dedicated to another friend, hopelessfaerie, for making this story and me a favorite of hers. I appreciate you both and your support. _

_Don't forget to review, I need the feed back. Flames even, I don't care._

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Chapter 2: Dallas Breaks a Routine

The next few days passed in a rather set routine. Alice would go to bed, only a few hours from the next morning and her alarm clock, which sat on her desk would go off at six in the morning, waking both Alice and Dally up. Dally would stretch as Alice smacked the alarm clock and groaned, letting her arm fall over the edge of the bed and brush the floor. After a minute, she would sit up, yawn and push the covers back, getting out of bed and walking out of her room and turning right into the bathroom.

Dally would then walk out of her room and sit in the living room, watching her mother make breakfast. Her mother was a hassled looking woman, the worry lines and crows feet evident on her face. Her eyes were tired and her brown hair, which one looked like Alice's, had dulled and gray peppered the area around her forhead. Alice always ate toast with butter and strawberry or grape jelly for breakfast, while Jean would make coffee and eat a bagel.

When Dally heard the bathroom door open and close, he would stand up and walk to Alice's door. If it was closed, she was still getting dressed, so he would wait. For the first time in a long time, Dallas Winston had no dirty thoughts about a girl or felt the desire to spy on her. Sometimes, she would listen to a record with a small record player that had once been her brother's. It was usually something upbeat or mo-town, like Ray Charles or the occasional Elvis. When Alice started singing along, it was usually a sign that she was at least part way dressed and Dally would reappear in her room.

He would look at the pictures hanging on the wall. Most of them were of him. Sometimes she would talk, explaining why she was drawing him all the time. "You're fun to draw," she explained. "There are so many different things. The emotion on your face, in your eyes, your body language. You're a very interesting person Dallas."

Her clothes were usually the same. The normal long skirt, blouse and saddle shoes. Dally sometimes looked through her closet. Where fasion was concerned, Alice did a good job of keeping up. She had shorter skirts, ones that reached her knee, colorful shoes, pants, bell-bottoms (only one pair), different blouses and t-shirts, the occasional dress, and in her drawers (which he went through when she wasn't looking) were the normal colorful socks and shorts or capri's. She had a bathing suit too, green with white polka-dots.

Dally had grinned like a maniac when he had found it. It was a two piece.

Once Alice was dressed, she stood in front of her mirror, brushed her hair and usually put a ribbon in it, keeping her hair out of her face. Then she'd put on blue eye-shadow (She had muttered that green was such an ugly color for eyeshadow) and mascara and she would be done. Her lips were pink enough and she was already pale.

Then she would bounce downstairs (She always had a bounce in her step when she went down or up stairs) and she would eat her breakfast, run upstairs, brush her teeth and grab her school books. Then with a kiss and a wave, she'd be out the door and off to school.

Dally followed her to school at Leann's suggestion to get to know her and her friends better. Her school was large, incredibly large, and he was surprised she didn't get lost, though occasionally she would dash through the halls to make it to class on time. Alice went to Cook Highschool and apparently knew the place like the back of her hand. She would never mutter things that he could listen to around here and he would sometimes put a large distance between himself and her so he could watch how she was without him.

Leann had mentioned that Alice was more comfortable, a bit more sure of herself now that Dally had been around and if he didn't know what was troubling her, he couldn't finish his job and get some rest.

Alice was a bit of a spaz, Dally realized and he was a bit angry, once again that he'd been paired up with this strange, spaztic, girl. She never mentioned him to any of her friends, not even Connie, who seemed to be the closest friend she had.

Connie was a bit of a spaz too, a fast talker who didn't seem to care what came out of her mouth or what she did. She was constantly fussing over boys and would turn to Alice for a practical, not so spaztic way to handle it. Connie would sometimes bump into things, or hit her head on desks if she was grabbing someting or go into mad fits of giggles. But, somedays, Connie would be so miserable that she'd break down crying in class and she and Alice would hurry to the bathroom so Connie could tell her what was wrong.

It was usually stress.

Dally found out that Connie's family was from the Phillippines and her parents were very strict and proper. The exact opposite of herself. So she would feel the pressure of pleasing her parents and trying to do well in school constantly.

Dally would sometimes get disapproving looks from Connie's gaurdian, a boy about eighteen who looked like he'd never missed a single day of school in his lifetime before he died, becauseDallas would often be lounging in an empty chair and smoking. Dally didn't know why this nerd was so disapproving. He always kept a close eye on Alice, trying his best to help her do what was right. But sometimes they would both do the wrong thing and Alice would sigh and feel guilty or get in trouble.

Christine, who he had met during Alice's science class,reminded Dally a lot of a greaser girl. She kept a change of clothes in her locker and wore a lot of makeup and usually curled her blonde hair and put a ribbon in it for school. Though as she was walking out the doors, she would pull the ribbon out, shake her head and let her curled hair just fall. Alice would write about her sometimes in her journal (though she never mentioned anything about him) and how much she didn't like her, but couldn't stay away.

She didn't like her because she saw her as a whore. But she couldn't stay away because she was a supportive girl, always trying to make her a more outgoing person so she could enjoy life and understood her. They actually had a lot in common involving preference in guys and humor. But that was usually where it stopped.

Dally liked her other friends, Linda and Andrew a lot. They were actually normal. Like, the gang normal. It made him feel more at home. Since Chicago was the farthest thing from Tulsa he had ever seen (Besides New York). Everyone talked with weird accents and he had to make sure he was listening carefully or he'd get lost in what people were saying. Especially Connie.

But one faithful day, the chain of routine days was broken when Dally and Alice were faced with a difficult problem. Christine wanted Alice to smuggle drugs into the school and get them to this boy named Ronnie.

Dallas would have done it hands down. Alice wanted to help a friend. So, Dally told Alice to take the chance and hide it in her purse. She would meet up with Ronnie outside the cafeteria at lunch. Alice was a nervous wreck all morning, jumping whenever a teacher called on her or when a staff member poked their head in the door.

_"Stay calm kid, we don't want you gettin' busted because you're jumpy..." _Dally muttered a few times during the day. Alice would then take a few calming breaths and be back to normal, doing her best to stop glancing at her purse. _"It's only one more period until lunch, then you can get rid of it and give the money to Christine." _

When the last class before lunch finally ended, Alice practically ran out of the classroom and disappeared into the bathroom.Dally knew she was waiting out the crowds. When Connie and company realized that Alice may have had somewhere else to go, they moved on to the lunch room and Alice finally poked her head out. Dallas was waiting against the wall, smoking, but Alice took no notice. She couldn't see him even if she wanted to and Dally still had no idea why.

Alice dashed down the hallway, heading towards the doors that led to the back of the cafeteria where the flow of students wasn't as heavy and where Ronnie would be waiting. Dally followed her, a few feet away, and nearly lost her as her curtain of brown hair disappeared around a corner. Luckily, he was able to see a door swinging shut, so he took a shot and hoped for the best as he followed.

He knew perfectly well that he could just simply reappear beside her, but he had been wanting to actually walk through the school for a while. It had been a long time since he had been in one.

"Hurry up, I'd like to be in the cafeteria before the bell rings," Alice said nervously. She was a good distance away, and she was shifting from foot to foot as Ronnie, a dark haired boy, reached into his pocket and counted out the money. Most of it seemed to be in change.

"Here," Ronnie said gruffly, dumping the money into her hands as he put the drugs in his pocket. "Tell Christine to get a better delivery person huh?"

Alice frowned as she dumped the money into her purse and dashed down the hallway once again to go to her locker. It wasn't that far from there and a few seconds later, she was walking back down the hallway, her face red. When Dallas neared her she muttered, "I have a detention...for wandering the halls," before walking into the cafeteria. Dally stood outside the doors, feeling a bit guilty.

_"Shit."_

* * *

_Alright. Alice is only able to sense Dally when he's nearby and only then does she talk to him. It's like an imaginary friend even she can't see. Alice is actually a very social, talkitive person and talks to Dally for that reason. They haven't really made a relationship yet. _


	4. Dallas Does His Job

_Wow, less than two days and I already have three fans hooked to the story. I'm recruiting more (my poor sad, reading hating friends) and I hope they never stop coming. I like this story, because it's really more about raw emotion...things that different teens feel at one point or another. I should mention that all characters are loosely based off of my friends personality-wise, though Connie is really just Alice's version of my friend Kimi. Though Connie can't draw and Kimi can. Very well I may add. _

_Thank you Marauder and the Q, for your lovely reviews. They made me smile. I'm not a fan of this chapter, so I won't dedicate it to you. Wait until the next one, maybe it'll be better and I won't insult you be dedicating a shit chapter to you. Just be patient, your chapter shall come. Maybe you can can explain thisbeta thing for me (I've never done that kind of thing before, but my friends suck as much as I do and don't know what it is either). Gah, the clueless-ness of it all hurts me. _

_I'll probably dedicate this one to my brat sister, who interrupted me with the dumbest things and finally, held my attention with Rob Lowe. Oh, and the commercial for "You, Me and Dupree". Hellooo Matt Dillon. Haha. _

* * *

Chapter 3: Dallas Does His Job

Dallas sat down next to Alice, who was sitting at the table in the library with her head down. Sure, he had gotten her in trouble, but it was the most interesting thing that had happened in the days he had been with her.

_"Don't worry about it. At least they didn't catch you with those drugs, you'd be talkin' to the police right now if that had happened," _Dally reassured her, smoking a cigarette. Alice sighed and turned her head to look at the chair next to her. It was just the chair, she still couldn't see him.Dallas stared at her. She looked so...dead.

"I thought you're supposed to tell me to do the right thing," Alice muttered. Dally shrugged, not caring if it was seen or not.

_"I'm new to this kid, I was never good at doing the right thing before I died," _Dally said as he propped his feet up on the table. Alice stared at him (the general area anyway), a mix of anger and disappointment on her face. Her lips became a thin line, much like Leann did when she was upset, and she sat up as straight as a board. She glared at the front of the room and Dallas let out a low whistle as he raised his eye brows and looked around the room.

Andrew was sitting near the back, his feet propped up on the table and his head tilted back. Occasionally he would start whistling or look around the room. Andrew was a tan boy with black hair, a heart shaped face, and blue eyes. Dallas snorted as he looked at Alice again, who had since given up her glare session and was propping her chin up in her hand, a dazed look on her face. _'A typical pretty boy," _Dally thought with a smirk. He was almost reminded of Soda, but Andrew wasn't _that _good looking.

Alice hunched over, her eyes wide as a small paper ball bounced off the back of her head. She sighed and turned her head and Andrew waved his fingers then pointed to the paper. Alice bent down and plucked up the paper wad from the floor, setting it down on the table so Dally could see too.

Dally was practically breathing in her ear as he looked over her shoulder. _"Did he proclaim his love for you?" _he asked with a smirk. Alice rolled her eyes as she ran her hand over the paper, flattening it out.

_Dear Ally,_

_Meet me outside after detention, 'kay? I gotta ask you something. _

_Smiles, _

_Andy_

_"He'll probably tell you outside. Want me to take a picture for you, ya know, to start the scrap book of Alice and Andrew and their eternal love for each other?" _

Alice stepped on his foot.

xxxx

"Hey Ally!" Andrew said with a smile, picking her up in a hug and turning full circle, before setting her back down on the ground. Alice grinned and for a moment Dallas remembered the picture of her and Connie. He hadn't realized Andrew was that strong, but now that he noticed it, his build was close to that of a football player. He wasn't even close to Darry, but he was strong enough to pick Alice up like she was just a small kid.

"...We're all goin' to the drive in tonight. Think your old lady would let you go?"

"I dunno," Alice said, moving her hair behind her right ear. "Maybe. I don't have anything else to do tonight anyway. And who's going?"

"Aw, you know, the usual crowd."

"Oh, you mean people like Ronnie and Christine and other paper-shakers and jocks?"

"Well yeah, if you wanna generalize it like that...C'mon Alice, I'll be there. It'll be a blast."

Alice sighed and glanced over at Dally. _"C'mon have some fun for once."_

"Alright," Alice said with a smile. "I'll go."

xxxx

"I should have said no! I don't go to the drive-in! I mean, come on...guys like you call it the "passion-pit". Like I really belong there," Alice said angrily, standing in front of her closet.

_"I knew some girls that called it that too. Don't be so closed minded..." _Dally replied, rolling over on her bed. Alice sighed and hid her face in one of her dresses.

"I dunno what to do. If Ronnie...Ugh, I'd never be able to look at Andrew again!"

_"You like that guy?" _

"What?" Alice asked, turning to look at Dallas in surprise. "Of course not! We have nothing in common." Dallas raised his eyebrows. "I'm serious! Dally...really, I don't like Andrew...not in that way anyway. Dally!"

Dallas grunted as a pillow hit him in the face. He sighed and dropped it on the floor. _"Why didn't you tell me you could see me?" _

"I can't, it was a lucky guess. I didn't know where your face was and I'm assuming I hit it because you didn't make a come-back. I can sense you...ya know, sort of like the feeling of someone following you or something? I feel something like that. _And _I felt your complete disbelief in the fact that I _do not like Andrew..._is this a yes?" Alice asked, holding up a shorter skirt and a sweater. Dally searched his mind for every outfit he had seen at the drive-in.

_"It's not what the girls I've gone out with would wear, but sure." _

"Sorry I don't own slut clothes," Alice muttered, slipping into the closet and shutting the doors.

_"Hey, I'm sorry too," _Dallas said with a shrug as he looked up at the white ceiling. Alice burst out of the closet a few minutes later, twirling with a grin, her arms out.

"Whaddya think?"

Besides her dishevled hair, Alice looked nice. Like one of the Soc. girls he used to see around. It was odd, looking at her and knowing she had no idea what a Soc. was.

_"You look like a normal girl," _Dallas replied. Alice's grin faltered a little, as she lowered her arms. Slowly the grin faded and she walked to her dresser, brushing her hair lightly so the curls she had put in when she got home stayed in, but so they looked less messy. The hairstyle was reminding Dally of a red-head he had tried picking up once. She didn't say a word or even glance at him as she fixed her make up and she walked out of the room without a word.

_"Damnit, Alice! What the hell did I do?" _

xxxx

Alice made a point to ignore Dally the whole time with Andrew. She didn't shoot him any glances, or listen to the comments he made. She just spoke to Andrew while they rode in the car to the other side of town, laughing like nothing could possibly be wrong in her life.

Linda, a pretty girl with auburn hair that she wore in curls and freckles dotting her cheeks underneath her gray eyes (and one that Dallas liked a lot), was riding in a car further back. She was more like a greaser-girl, with shorter skirts, more make up and a bit of a swearing problem. But she was a nice girl and a good student and made sure to avoid the label of slut. And she did a good job of it.

"How have you been?" Andrew asked, one hand resting lazily on the steering wheel of the car.

"Fine," Alice said carefully. She knew that he was asking about how she was handling both her father and brother gone. It was mostly the truth, she wasn't moping around.

"Really? That's good. I haven't seen you in awhile, actually. With football and other stuff..." Andrew said, trailing off.

"Would that other stuff happen to involve a girl?"

"Nah, no paper-shakers this year...I was actually...looking for something different this year," the dark haired boy said as they turned into the drive in. Dallas narrowed his eyes at the boy from the back seat. _'Real smooth muscle head. Now she won't know if you're talking about her or some other broad.'_

Dally still doubted Alice's reassurance that she had no interest in Andrew and if it made her happy, then, muscle head better hurry it up.

"You never told me what the movie was," Alice said, turning her head to look at him. Her curls bounced with the movement and her black eyes watched as he paid to get in.

"I usually don't bother to check, I just go to see friends and hang out," He said with a shrug. Alice muttered something and Dallas smirked, but Andrew didn't seem to take any notice.

_"Glory he's a slow one." _

He thought he saw Alice glare, but Andrew grinned at her and it quickly disappeared.

xxxx

_"Alright Alice, you're being a bitch, so I'll just go else where for awhile," _Dally said loudly as he walked away. He saw Alice tense, but that was it. She was occupied with watching her friends. She wasn't participating and she wouldn't even bother looking at him despite that. He was actually annoyed. She had never ignored him before in the days he had been with her, why should she start now?

He hunched his shoulders, hearing Alice laugh behind him. Maybe it wasn't so bad he was being ignored. If she was happy and wasn't lost anymore...hell, then it didn't bother him at all. Dallas stood a little straighter, his usual swagger returning to his steps. He noticed a few people watching him. Maybe they could see him now. He didn't feel different, but...for the moment he wanted to live a normal life, so maybe...He shook his head a bit as he walked by a group of girls, his hair falling into his eyes as he looked over at them.

A few of them looked frightened, but the others giggled and grinned, wiggling their fingers in a wave. It worked every time. Not on every girl, but in a group, he took the chance. He smirked and looked back ahead of him. So, others _could _see him now. Maybe it was because Alice didn't need him. Or maybe it was just what he wanted, to be normal for the moment.

A few minutes later and he had his arm drapped over some chick's shoulder. He thought her name was Jane, but it may have been something totally different. But what did he care? She was drunk and names didn't matter with things like this. He was nuzzling the girl's neck, mumbling about going back to her car, when he had an odd feeling, like something bad was going to happen. He stopped, his eyes wide. No. He _knew _something bad was going to happen. He looked up, his eyes looking first for anything resembling a gang of trouble making hoods. He found there were actually a lot of people that looked like that, so he gave that up.

Jane, or who ever she was, was pouting, "Hey, Dallas, something buggin'? Is it a girlfriend or something? Don't worry, if we hurry, she won't see or nothin'."

Dallas shook his head. "Nah, just thought I heard someone call my name."

Jane giggled. "It was probably me you-"

That was when it happened. A loud bang and Jane screamed, covering her head as she ran. A bullet chipped the brick of the concession stand wall he had been leaning against and others hit chairs or people. He wasn't scared. He had seen things like this before. _'Same shit, different place...'_ Dallas thought bitterly as he ran. He found Alice, finally, hiding behind a car with Linda and Christine. Dally skidded to a halt and ducked down in front of her. A small smirk crossed Christine's face, but it disappeared as she covered her head and Linda's as the glass in the window above them shattered.

"Damnit," Dallas hissed, a piece of glass cutting his cheek as he grabbed Alice and covered her head. "Come on, we're getting out of here."

"Wait," Linda said. Dallas looked up at her. She looked terrified. "They'll shoot at us."

"How do you know?" Dally bit back. His eyes were blazing.

"Because," Christine began meekly. "We know the boys who are doing it."

"Ronnie," Alice whispered. Dally bit back a sigh. Of course. He just had to tell Alice to come tonight. She hadn't even wanted to.

"And, if we're dead..." Linda murmured.

"Then they'll have gotten rid of two people who could get him in jail," Christine finished. Dallas already knew that. It happened all the time back at home and in New York, but he was usually never stuck in the middle.

"Yeah, I know...fine, what do you think will work? Staying here and waiting?" Dally asked, hisarmaround Alice's shoulders. She hadn't said a word in quite a while and she was hunched over, hands near her neck.

"No," Alice piped up. "We're gonna make a run for it."

"In these shoes?" Christine demanded over the screams and gun shots. They were heels. _'Of course,' _Dally thought.

"Take them off," Dally snapped. Christine hesitated for a moment, before yanking them off and holding them close. "Ready?"

He noticed all three girls, taking deep breaths and getting ready to take off. Dallas removed his arm from Alice's shoulder and stood up, hunched over slightly. From what he could see, Ronnie and the two other boys were further down. They could make it if they ran fast enough.

"Set?" Linda asked, a small smile on her face, though she was pale as the moon. Christine nodded. The magic word was whispered and they took off, Linda in the front and Dally and Alice in the middle. Christine was falling a bit behind. Alice fell back and grabbed her hand and Dallas barely noticed. Until Alice screamed.

"Damnit Alice," Dallas yelled, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the drive-in. He knew that his job had just gotten harder.

* * *

_Hm, I live pretty close toChicago (close enough to visit everyday if I wanted to. All day), and yes, things like this happening (the drive-in shooting) are very possible there, especially in the time period of the story, where things were a bit more uncontrolled (not that it's any better now, 'cause I'd be lying). _

_I like when Dally makes a comment on Alice's remark about her not owning slut clothes. It's my favorite part. _

_I'm rethinking the pairing part. I think two people that are gonna end up sharing as much as these two will, will end up loving each other at one point. Though, it won't be fluffy. I'm not a fan of da fluff. _

_Clair would say this chapter is melo-dramatic. Ha, so would I. I suck with action scenes. Believe me, they look so freakin' awesome in my head I feel like getting up and dodging bullets, but when I write them down...well...they die. _


	5. Drowning in Emotion

_Uh...yeah. I just woke up so...uhm...yeah. Wow, totally brain dead. _

_Er...found out my sister is a good lil' beta and I may use her to check for typos or things that don't make sense. But, I was told there were a few plot holes or...somethin' and I don't think either of us caught those. _

_Maraaaudeeeer: I love your excerpts, they make me happy and fuzzy. I know I'm doing good if people want to quote my story. Dally's not being totally like "haha I luff you playful" it's more like "I'm going to make you feel very uncomfortable and/orget on your nervesright now". Yeaaaah. Glad you caught on that chapter two was just there to sort of give you an idea about how Alice doesn't do anything different, it wouldn't have mattered if it was there or not. I love fillers...well, not really. The comment about plot holes was indeed intended for you dear. Just let me know and I'll fix them. _

_Sooo, this chapter is yours. Maybe the next one to. Who knows._

* * *

Chapter 4: Drowning in Emotion

Linda and Alice were crying, trying to push past Dally who was holding them back from the entrance. He wasn't going to let Alice, let alone Linda, back in there. He could still hear the occasional shots being fired and if Alice died...he'd have to start all over.

"But, Christine-" Linda protested, trying to push past him. Dallas hooked his arm around her waist and held her back further.

"You aren't gonna be much use if you get shot to," Dallas shouted. "Why don't you use some of that money I know you have and call the police huh?"

Linda stopped moving all together and looked on through the entrance. Dally looked over his shoulder his frown deepening when he saw Christine's blonde hair spread out on the gravel and blood. She wasn't moving at all. Alice let out a pitiful sob as she sunk down to the sidewalk.

Other kids came dashing to the entrance, pushing Dally out of the way. Linda was shoved against the chain link fence and Dally swore, catching himself before he fell over. He wondered why no one had bothered to call the police yet; back home they would have been there the moment it happened. They usually hung around the drive-in back at Tulsa. Maybe the Chicago police force was slacking off.

Dally pulled Alice up off the ground, grunting as she practically threw herself at him and held onto him. Linda sobbed somewhere in the background, but everything seemed to be moving slower to Dally. His step back seemed to take forever and it seemed like an eternity before he hit the fence. He noticed the distinct smell of some sort of flower and felt Alice's sobs move through his body. He wondered if this would happen every time she touched him like this.

_"It's because you're her guardian angel. When she's that close to you, things seem to slow down a bit. You'll feel everything she does. Ya know, I'm surprised you actually did your job," _Julie's voice chirped somewhere. Dally winced. Alice must have been feeling worse than he thought; it actually _hurt_ to feel what Alice was.

He saw flashes of different memories. The exact moment Christine died, her eyes wide as the light behind them died. Alice's mother watching T.V. with her. Her brother leaving and her mom in hysterics. Her father's funeral, the time he was sick and the time before, friends he couldn't place the name too waving from the back of cars or seeing their faces on the front page of the paper.

Dallas bit his lip. The strongest feeling was emptiness. The want for everything to stop but the fear of it. Being stuck in the middle with no where to go. The doubt...

He was dimly aware of falling to the sidewalk beneath him, leaning against the fence as he held Alice and buried his face in her hair. He was familiar with some of the feelings she had. The devasation of seeing a friend die, the emptiness, the feeling of losing a parent...the want for it to just end. Dally held on tighter; he wouldn't cry, he wouldn't scream. That was the last thing he wanted to do. But he felt that if he let go of her, he'd get swept away. Lost in the feelings that were too strong for anyone to have to deal with...

_Johnny...Damn it Johnny, don't die..._

_Why do ya bother helpin' people huh? It doesn't do any good..._

Dally opened his eyes, gunfire ringing in his ears. He looked around, his brain recognizing a cop car...there was more than one of course, maybe about five. Paramedics were checking kids over in the crowds and one was walking over to him, Linda and Alice. He could hear Alice crying on his shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He saw Linda standing with another friend, holding each other and looking on, crying silently.

Dally didn't respond when a paramedic asked his name. "Shock," was the diagnosis for his silence. But when they tried to talk to Alice and pry her away from him, Dally only held on tighter, mumbling not to touch her.

"Wait until she calms down," Dallas said, his voice hollow. He winced as the paramedic cleaned the cut on his face instead and didn't respond to the paramedic's reassurances that there wouldn't be a permanent scar and that he wouldn't need stitches. Alice had a cut on her arm, which the paramedic (he told Dallas his name was Robert) took care of easy enough.

"She's not your sister is she? You don't look alike at all," Robert asked a few minutes later. Alice was now sitting next to Dally, hiccuping occasionally.

"No, she's a family friend," Dally replied. "I don't have a sister."

"I have a sister," Robert said conversationally as he checked Dally over. "She used to be a real brat, but she's better now. We were lucky it was just a phase."

"Yeah...lucky."

"How old are ya kid?"

"Seventeen."

"And what about you?" Robert asked, looking at Alice. She just stared at him.

"Christine...can you please save Christine? I lost her...in the drive-in," Alice said. Robert looked at Dally, confused. Dally motioned for him to lean closer.

"She got shot. She's the blonde laying straight in front the of the entrance."

Robert nodded and gave Alice a reassuring smile and pat on the shoulder. "I'll do my best," he said as he stood up and walked away. Dally loved when people lied to make things easier...

xxxx

"Oh Alice!" Jean cried, holding her daughter close. "I was so worried, the police called the house just as I walked in the door, saying that my child had been caught in a shooting! I was scared to death until I realized you had to have given them the number."

Actually, Dallas had given the police her number, saying that he was staying with her family for his school break so he wouldn't have to tell his own. Alice may as well have been a robot. She hadn't said a word since she asked Robert the paramedic to go save Christine. That was almost five minutes ago. Her mother didn't seem to notice the blond haired boy standing behind her daughter. Maybe no one could see him again.

"Alice," Linda said, walking up to her. "Where'd that blond boy go? I didn't...I didn't thank him."

"He went home," Alice replied quietly. "His father came and picked him up."

Linda didn't question her. There were so many parents wandering around, looking for their kids that there was really no reason not to believe that Dallas was already safe at home. Dally wasn't sure why he couldn't be seen again. Maybe he had gotten tired of people asking him questions.

_"You did a good job Dally. Really. I don't think I've seen anyone so...protective," _Julie said, startling him.

_"Could you and Leann stop...dropping in out of no where?"_

_"Why, does it scare you?" _

_"I'm not scared of anything..." _Dally protested, his greaser grammar showing itself off brilliantly (for those of you who don't know, the proper way would be "I'm not afraid of anything" or "No, it doesn't scare me at all"). _"But it's buggin' me." _

_"Well, I just wanted to congratulate you. I **was** gonna come here to nag at you, but this made up for it...I hope you realized that your job got harder. Seeing a death can be very traumatizing for a young person...well for anyone really. By the way, you __missed your ride." _

Dally scowled, realizing that Alice and her mother had, indeed, driven away already. _"Thanks a lot Julie. Why don't you go and fantasize about Leann for awhile and leave me alone."_

_"Dallas!" _

But Dally was already fading, headed for Alice's bedroom.

xxxx

Alice was sitting at her desk, her pencil looping lazily across the paper. She was hunched over slightly staring at the gray mess. Dally didn't say a word. He had a sense of when it was right to be a smart ass and when it was time to just stay quiet. He didn't even sigh loudly when he sat down on her bed. He had the feeling that being sarcastic and getting on her nerves wasn't the best thing to do to cheer her up.

"...Paul sees things like that all the time," Alice said suddenly. There wasn't emotion in her voice and it bothered Dally a little. Usually you could tell what mood she was in just by hearing her talk. "He sends letters...sometimes...we haven't got anyone in awhile. He'll probably look like Christine, when he dies."

The now gray paper fell to the floor and her pencil started up again. But Dally still didn't say a word and Alice kept going. "His picture is at the top of the mirror...you know, sometimes I hate it when you talk...he talked a lot like you did. And I hate that...really..." Alice said bitterly. "Luckily, you don't look like him...did you know you kinda look like an elf?"

Dallas bit his lip and clenched his fists; he knew it was probably best that she just vented off her anger a bit, but on him? It was hard not to grab the back of her head and pound her face against her desk.

"It was nice of you to finally do your job though. I'm surprised you didn't just laugh and tell me to see if I could make it out before they saw me, while you smoked a cigarette. 'Cause, ya know, that's kinda the vibe you've been giving off for a while...Paul did that sometimes. Not when my life was on the line, but just sometimes. Take my bike and tell me if I could keep up with him, I'd get it back. I never could and he'd be gone all day with it. That bastard..." Alice muttered. Another page fluttered down. This one had some mean looking birds on it and what looked like a skeleton, but it was so deformed, Dally couldn't tell.

"I bet this guardian thing was the last thing you ever wanted to do. You probably hate people...when I saw you running up, I was scared you know. You really are a mean looking person. I thought angels were supposed to be kind and beautiful. How many times have you imagined me getting hurt? I bet it's a lot," Alice said. Her voice was so cool and casual; Dally imagined that maybe she had finally snapped and her mother would send her way.

"I used to have dreams, really weird ones, about Paul dying, ya know? They used to scare me so much I'd cry...but I'd never cry in front of you. You'd probably yell at me, or make fun...right? Yeah..." she sighed as the next paper fluttered down. It was a girl, huddled up and alone in a mass of black.

"Do you ever feel anything Dally? At all? I guess I should say did you...do you know what it's like to be happy, to love someone, to actually care? You can answer if you like, I don't care," Alice said, furiously tapping and swipping her pencil against the paper. They sat, the only sound coming from the pencil, which was pretty much attacking the paper. "Are imagining the paper screaming too?"

Dally looked surprised. He had...for a second, he had remembered the screams of someone getting jumped. _"Yeah...I was." _

"Did Christine scream, or did someone else? It's hard to tell; people sound the same when they scream. Or maybe that's just me...what do you think Dally, do people scream differently or the same?"

Dally didn't have an answer for that question. It's not like he had actually paid attention. He didn't jump people to tell if they screamed the same as everyone else. He just...jumped them because he could.

"You probably never noticed. You seem like the type of person that hardly notices anything...I personally think you should start paying attention Dally...it'll do you some good one day," Alice said calmly, another paper fluttering to the floor. Another dark picture; the back of an angel, with dark, bloody wings. He figured that there was a message somewhere in the pictures, but no matter how obvious it seemed, he couldn't quite figure out what she was trying to do.

Alice turned to him, her eyes glazed over. Her hands were gray from the pencil, which was now flat and could no longer be used. "I'm tired of drawing," she said, her voice monotone again. "You know. It's my fault the shooting happened. You probably have no idea why. Remember Ronnie? I gave him the drugs...the ones he and his friends were on when it happened. They wanted to be in the paper..." she said wistfully. "But, then again, I think we all do. Were you ever in the paper?"

_"Yeah...a few times." _

"Did you kill anyone?"

_"No...I've seen it happen...but I never did."_

"That's good...you don't need to kill anyone to get in a paper, you know...it certainly helps though, doesn't it? I mean, really...all you have to do is die and you get in the paper. It can't be that hard..." Alice smiled suddenly. "All of those kids are going to be in the paper...I bet Christine would have been thrilled."

Dally watched, as Alice slumped forward until her head touched his knee. She dropped out of the chair and sat there, on the floor, her head on his knee and cried. Not like before, where she sobbed and could hardly stand. More like the quiet crying you see at a funeral...

Dally put a hand on her head, and pet her hair like she was a dog; he barely noticed. He kept wondering if the gang had cried like that when he had died...and if not, maybe they had cried like that at Johnny's funeral...did they even go to Dally's funeral? Did he have one? Did Johnny? Or were they both just another body in a bag somewhere...?

Would Alice have cried for them?

_'Why would I care?" _Dally wondered, the usual detatchment from emotion lacing the thought. Dally barely noticed when Alice fell asleep.

* * *

_If you are confused, well...that's weird, because my lil' sister had no problems...she just said it was boring compared to people shooting everything...I told her I could throw in a nuclear war...she said no. But go ahead and voice your confusion. I'll fix it up so it's not confusing later. _


	6. Dallas Doesn't Care

_Well, two chapters up in less than a few hours. I got skillz. This one is Dally centric, showing that, he too, is totally lost. And questioning himself. _

_Alright, Soda **is** mentioned in this chapter. A lot. Yeah. And the pictures? Alice drew them when she was rambling on in the last chapter. She can draw pretty fast, and not all them were highly detailed, that's why she was able to cook up so many. _

_This one is dedicateed to all of my readers, though, Marauder especially, because she loves Dally's Dally-ness. _

* * *

Chapter 5: Dally Doesn't Care

Dally stayed up the rest of the night, his thoughts a mess while Alice slept. He had moved her to her bed after she had moved and nearly cracked her head open on her desk when she slid off his knee. If Alice was having any nightmares, she wasn't showing it. Her face was pretty much impassive; a blank mask of innocence.

Slumping over, Dally stared at the floor from the edge of Alice's bed. He didn't need to sleep, at least, he didn't think he needed too. _'I never slept that much when I was alive anyway. Don't see why it would be such a big deal now.' _

He could hear people shouting in the street below and laughing. _'The gang...'_ Dally thought, looking up at the window. But the thought vanished an instant later; what was left of the gang...they were in Tulsa Oklahoma. _'Julie...'_

_"What?" _

_"You said you worked in Oklahoma, right?" _Dally asked, looking up at her.

_"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did. Why, wanna make sure you got your head in order? You remembered my name at least."_

_"No...I want you to go to Tulsa and find the gang...look for the Curtis brothers..." _Dally muttered looking back down at the floor. Julie floated there for a moment, before fading away. Dally glared at the floor. He had been expecting a smart remark, for her to tell him she couldn't or wouldn't do it...now he'd have to know...he'd already admitted he cared when he had asked Julie to check.

Dally held his head. He felt hot, feverish and he wondered if that was just a reaction to the nerves. He had never admitted he cared. Ever. He never thought he would. Sure, everytime he gave hisring to some girl...he had felt something. But it wasn't seen as him caring, it was seen more as lust. He had thought that too.

He hated it. He didn't _like_ feeling anything. He didn't want to. Dally had always gotten what he wanted before, but someone was starting to tell him no. They were forcing him to feel something, to care about something, to actually question who he was and Dally hated it. More than anything...he hated it.

Julie slowly appeared, floating again. She actually looked timid. _"I dunno if they were all there...there were," _She paused and held up her hand, moving her fingers slightly. _"Four of them...wait. Yeah, four." _

_"Four? There should have been five," _Dally said, narrowing his eyes at the floor. _"Are sure?" _

_"Well, yeah. There was the older one, and the boy with the side-burns, the younger looking one, and the one named Steve. He had his name sewn into his shirt, ya know, like at the gas station? They all seemed pretty bummed." _

_"No one named Soda showed up in heaven did they?" _

_"What? Of course not! I think I'd remember a name like **that**. I swear Dally, there were only four. Maybe Soda was out somewhere." _

_'Out where?' _Dally thought. _'It's not like Sandy was any reason to stay out all night...are they even still together? Unless...hell, maybe it was a runaway marriage.' _

_"Look, if you're still worried-" _

_"I'm not worried!" _Dally shouted. Julie snapped her mouth shut. Dally was glaring at her, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Julie shrank back a bit.

_"Sorry...look, I'll be on the look out for anything on-"_

_"I don't care!" _Dally shouted again, standing up. He rushed forward, grabbing Julie by her shirt and holding her against the wall. _"I don't care, so don't bother! I never cared and I never will! Alright?"_

_"If you don't care...why are you still here, with Alice? Why did you ask, if you don't care?" _Julie asked, her eyes boring into him. Dally held her there for a long time, looking out the window. Julie didn't seem to mind. For once, she actually stayed quiet.

_"Ya know Dally, no one minds if you care...we aren't going to make fun of you...I mean, I care. I care about a lot of things. People care Dally, it's a normal thing."_

_"Yeah, I know that. But I **don't care.** I told you that," _Dally said, dropping Julie on the floor. Julie winced, rubbing her back as Dally stood over her, his forehead on the wall as he looked down at her.

_"You have to care at some point." _

_"No. I don't. I got along fine not caring before." _

_"Yeah, and look where it got you. You're dead." _

Dally stayed quiet and sighed as he pushed off the wall, walking over to the pictures that Alice had drawn. A few of them were on the wall around the window and others were on the desk or on the floor. He noticed that a few were of the same people...the angel with bloody wings and someone else who didn't have a face, with a sketchy outline. Like they weren't all the way there. Julie was standing over his shoulder.

_"Leann told me Alice could draw...do you get the picture Dally? Do you know who they are?" _

Dally was about to snap that he didn't give a flying shit, but he decided he should just not respond at all. Julie sighed. Apparently he thought Dally was a bit dense. He knew. He had figured it out a few hours ago before Julie had dropped in.

_"It's you and Alice."_

_"I know." _

_"But do you really **get **it, Dally?"_

_"What are you, and art expert?" _

_"...I went to school for it," _Julie said bitterly. Dally glared at the picture. So what, she hadn't told him that, how was he supposed to know? _"The wings, they're bloody for a reason. It's what she thinks of you; she get's the feeling that you were **forced** to be what you are. The wings are bloody because they were forced, they weren't yours. It must be the feeling she's been getting from you. The other one is kind of obvious." _

Dally remained silent. He noticed that the characters were almost touching, but, it looked like something was in between them. _'They can't get closer...what they are...it's holding them back,' _Dally realized, his eyes widening a bit. They were pushing each other away...but they still wanted to get through. Or maybe...maybe it was just Alice who wanted to get through. And he wouldn't let her.

He looked at the picture again. The other Alice was reaching out toward the bloody angel, but he wasn't doing a thing...his head was down, a shadow across his face, like he regretted it. Like he was sorry he couldn't reach out for her too.

_"You have to care sometime Dally...whether you like it or not," _Julie said, before backing off and fading away. Dally gritted his teeth and clenched his fist that wasn't holding the picture. He slammed it on the desk and hunched over, his breathing heavy.

_'I don't want to care...I won't...' _Dally thought desperately, falling to the floor. All he could remember was Johhny...and when he had died. _'No...I won't care again. Not after him. I don't want to...and I'm going to get what I want this time.' _

xxxx

"Alice! Alice look!" Dally looked at the door from his seat on the floor in front of the desk. It was Jean. Alice rolled over and groaned, curling up. "Not today Alice, I'm not saying you have to go to school. It's a letter, from Paul. We finally got one!"

Alice sat up, rubbing her eyes with her hands. "Lemme see," she said, reaching out for it. Jean held it out to her an excited look on her face as Alice took it. She plopped down on the bed next to her. Alice ripped the envelope and pulled the letter out, flipping it open. A picture fluttered to the floor and Dally leaned over to look at it. His eyes widened.

_"Alice! Alice!" _Dally said, pointing to the picture. She glared at him before looking back at the letter.

_Dear Mom and Alice, _

_I know I haven't written in awhile, but I also know you understand. At least, I know mom probably does. There hasn't been much to write about. It's been quiet and I'm actually really worried. Like the silence before a tornado, ya know? Well, I know we haven't had one of those in awhile, but you still get the point. A new boy arrived a few days ago. I put his picture in there, but Alice probably dropped it already; or she hid it somewhere. _

_He's from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he was real sad when they cut all of his hair off. He sure had a lot of it...He's real scared though, then again, we all are. _

_His name is Sodapop (isn't that something?) but he told us to call him Soda. Apparently, he left a lot of people behind when he came here, 'cause he was real bummed about 'em. I told him that I left some important people behind too and he seemed to feel a bit better about it. I told him all about you Alice, so who knows, maybe you'll finally get a boyfriend. Ha. _(Alice rolled her eyes at that part) _He's real nice though and keeps up a cheerful disposition. A few of the guys feel better with him around and others get upset with him, telling him that it isn't some joke out here and that he had to be serious. _

_Soda seemed to mellow down a bit after that. But other than that, things are okay. Soda has to walk point (that means he's in front of us all) but we have confidence in him. He already got us out of trouble once. Soda told us that back at home, it was like a war everyday between the rich kids and the poor ones. So he was used to being on guard and keeping a look out for anything suspicious, but he was still nervous. He was told he's gonna be one of the dog handelers, so he'll be gone for a while to train for that. _

_I've actually made a few buddies out here, so it's not as bad as it sounds, especially when we get the chance to rest and talk, but we're still jumpy, even when we're just sitting around hanging out. I hope you and Alice are getting along okay without me, Mom. There's another note for Alice in there so she gets some words all to herself. _

_Love you both, _

_Paul_

Jean looked down on the floor and spotted the picture on the floor, picking it up carefully. "This must be Soda. He sure is a handsome boy," Jean said with a smirk. Dally was confused. _'How long have I been dead? He was gonna turn seventeen the last time I saw him. So I've been dead for a whole fuckin' year and I just realized it a few days ago?' _he thought angrily. Alice was looking at the picture, a thoughtful look on her face.

"It's too bad..." She said sadly. "He looks so happy...he's not gonna be the same if he gets through the war."

"I know, honey. It makes me sad to think about it too," Jean said, pulling her close and rubbing her arm. "But try not to think about that," she said, resting her head on her daughters. Dally watched them as they sat in silence, looking at Soda's picture. They did look a like...he could see it in their faces. But Alice's eyes were to dark to be her mother's. Finally, Alice set the picture on her desk and picked up the envelope, pulling out a small note. She didn't read it. She set it down on her desk next to the picture.

Jean sighed and picked up the letter from Alice's lap, walking out of her bedroom. Alice waited until her mother was down the stairs before carefully picking up the note again.

_Alice, _

_I know you probably only know my name, but, I decided that I wanted to send you something to. _

_This was intended to be inspiring, but I'm not to smart, so, this is just to let you know that I'll be lookin' out for your brother real well. I'll make sure he gets back home to you and maybe one day I'll get to meet you. Your brother says a lot of good things about you, don't worry. He's determined to get back home. So am I, of course. _

_So keep smiling, Alice. I'm sure your brother wants to come back to a happy sister. _

_-Sodapop P. Curtis_

Alice smiled at the note before looking at Dally. "This is the boy you told me about once, right? He was one of your friends. He's really nice, I can see why everyone liked him."

Dally remembered mentioning a few things about the gang once or twice before. She was always so curious about them. So he had finally given in and told her everything.

"...Are you upset, that Soda is in the war?"

Dally crossed his arms and stared at the wall ahead of him. He had told him self that he didn't care at all. The moment he heard that Soda was in the war, he had cared...but then wiped it away. He had promised himself that he wouldn't care about anything else. Alice was waiting paitiently though, looking at the picture. She picked it up and carried the picture and the note over to her mirror.

She moved a picture of scenary over and carefully taped Soda's picture onto the mirror's edge, then taped the note on the mirror directly below it. She was still smiling. Soda had that effect on people. He always got people smiling, even when they were in no mood to.

Alice sighed and walked out of her room after a few minutes of silence. Dally never gave her an answer; he was afraid of what it would be. _'I'm not gonna care...I refuse to. I got by without caring before...I don't need to now.'

* * *

Alrighty, for those of you who don't own the complete novel DVD and there for, can not watch the commentaries, you won't know that I did not randomly throw Soda into the war. _

S.E.Hinton was asked a question by Rob Lowe, the actor who played Soda. That question? "What happens to Soda after the book is over?"

The answer: "Oh, Soda actually goes to Vietnam."

That's not the whole answer, I dun wanna give it away. For those of you who do own the DVD and have watched the commentaries and do know the whole answer: SHH! Don't tell!

Alrighty, for those of you who don't own the complete novel DVD and there for, can not watch the commentaries, you won't know that I did not randomly throw Soda into the war. 


	7. Does That Make Me Crazy?

_I dunno, not a fan of this chapter. I'm starting to get lost in my own thoughts when I'm writing this story and I need a way to stay on track...so I'm sorry if this chapter...seems...drabbly and pointless. My friends aren't sure where I should go with this story either...one tells me to make it a pairing and I say "Nooo, too...messy" _

_I can barely keep my thoughts straight writing this...I dunno, I may just replace this chapter later when I think of something. I'm starting to screech to a halt, and for that...I'm really really sorry. _

_This chapter could definately be better._

_I dedicate it to my wandering mind..._

* * *

Chapter 6: Does That Make Me Crazy?

"Dally, you better be awake when I get in there," Alice called from outside the door. Dally swore at her and rolled over, hiding his face in the pillow on Alice's bed. It smelled like a flower...

It had been a few days since the drive-in and the day Alice had recieved the letter from her brother and Soda. Alice had become a bit more distant, but she would talk to him sometimes at night. About Soda and her brother, or about things she had seen or places she had been to. She never mentioned Christine or the shooting.

"Okay, now before you accuse me for being on drugs, I want you to promise me you won't tell a single person. Ever, please. Then everyone else will accuse me of being on drugs.

"Alice, we're supposed to be at Christine's-"

"I know, but...this is important too. Please, Connie, it won't take that long."

"Well, alright. But you'd better hurry..." Connie muttered as she shut the door behind her. Dally felt the bed shake as Alice dove onto it. She shook his shoulder and he groaned, looking at her through half lidded eyes. He knew she couldn't see him, or else she wouldn't be that close. Her nose was practically touching his.

"Dally, are you awake? I want you to meet Connie," Alice said, the smell of mint and flowers attacking Dally's senses. Dally's eyes traveled to the short girl standing awkwardly by the door, dressed in black, as she watched her friend with a worried look on her face. He could just not show himself...but...

Alice had a nervous look on her face as if she knew he was considering not cooperating with her. Sure, Dally delighted in making her angry and embarrasing her but it would be a bit too much if he made her look insane in front of her best friend.

Slowly, Dally appeared, his eyes crossing slightly as he looked down at her lips. "You waitin' to kiss me?"

Alice, squeaked and jerked back, and Connie screamed. And swore. And backed up into the door behind her. "You gotta be fuckin' kidding me Alice! I think we're both on drugs!" Connie looked at her friend, shocked. Dally got up and scratched his head, groaning. He was still tired.

"I'm not on display here, you can stop gawking at me," Dally snapped, looking up at Connie. Connie apologized and closed her mouth, still pressed against the door and watching him. Finally, she gathered up her courage and walked over to the bed and sat down next to Alice. Connie's eyes never left him.

At Alice's insistance that her hand wouldn't go through his arm Connie carefully reached out and touched Dallas's arm. She quickly drew back when it didn't go through him. "I think I'd have prefered my hand going through," She said, holding the hand that had touched him. After a few minutes, it seemed to finally sink in. "Oh God..." Connie muttered, standing up from the bed, a hand on her mouth. "So...all of those pictures...he was real?"

"Connie...meet my guardian angel, Dallas."

xxxx

Connie was silent as she and Alice drove to the church. They weren't going to be late, thank God, but if Dally hadn't snapped at them that they had other things to do than stare and ask questions, they would have been. She remembered just letting the questions fly: How old are you? Where are you from? How long have you been an angel? Is that your real hair color? Do you like Chicago?

She smiled a bit as she remembered his answers: 17, Tulsa, I'm not sure, of course it is, no. He had snapped them at her as fast as she had asked the question. She glanced over at Alice as she slowed to a stop at a red light. She remembered playing "chinese fire drill" with Christine, Alice and Linda. Sometimes Andrew would join in, but it had always been the four of them. Connie wondered if Alice was thinking along the same lines: It just won't be the same without Christine...

Connie didn't say a word as they neared the church. She was scared. Would it be open casket? Did Christine look like she normally did? Would you be able to see where she was shot if it was open? Did Christine have a guardian angel? Did her angel try to help or was he told it was her time to go? Do they have rules or a day when the person they're looking over are supposed to die?

Connie felt a bit frustrated by all the questions that she couldn't answer...she wondered again if Alice had thought the same thing. _'Where was Christine's guardian angel when she died?' _

Alice held onto Connie's arm after they had stepped out of the car and walked up to the church. "I keep feeling like Christine is gonna walk up with Linda and we'll all be a chain again," Alice said quietly. "That it's someone else's funeral we're going to...someone we barely know."

Connie swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Sometimes Alice seemed so young to her; so clueless...ignorant. But she knew it was like a defense mechanism. She would suddenly become a different Alice. One that understood too much, or one that didn't understand enough. But whichever one she was, she'd be cold. Like a machine. A sensible, cold, unfeeling machine.

Alice walked into the church, cool and blank faced, but Connie was in tears. Not loud, sobbing uncontrolled tears. They were silent and her lip was quivering...she looked like the biggest cry baby in the world compared to Alice right now.

"You know Alice, you scare me sometimes," Connie said with a small smile as they walked up to one of the pews near the front.

"I scare myself sometimes too," Alice whispered.

xxxx

Alice was leaning against Connie as they stood outside. She hated the thought of watching someone put their friend in the ground and knowing they couldn't do anything. Alice and Connie had nearly fainted when they had walked up to see the casket. It was open (Which Alice had seen before) but it didn't look like the Christine they knew.

Her make-up was softer, her blonde hair was still curly, but her clothes weren't the ones that screamed self-confidence and sex appeal. They screamed I'm a polite, mild-mannered young woman who's beautiful...

"I didn't realize how pretty she was," Connie whispered, staring at her. "If it wasn't so serious, I'd take a picture," she said with a tiny smile.

"Yeah..." Alice agreed, before they were urged along. The priest reassured them that they could see her again after everyone else had gotten a chance. "Look at it this way..." Alice said as they walked back to their pew. "That's not our Christine that they're burying...we don't know that girl."

Connie hadn't agreed or disagreed.

Alice sighed and slipped away from the burial, her arms crossed. She didn't want to be there; she had convinced herself that it wasn't their Christine in there, but she had replaced her...with Paul, with her mother, with Soda...after awhile, Alice had to walk away to convince herself that they were being silly and burying an empty casket. She was surprised when it worked...for the moment, Christine was just gone.

_"You can't keep lying to yourself like this," _A voice piped in her head. _"It certainly isn't healthy at all...you're going to forget what is reality and what you made up...you'll be lost forever." _

Alice carefully pulled off her shoes when she reached the parking lot, dropped them on the ground by Connie's car and ran home.

xxxx

Dally was lounging on the couch when Alice burst into the house, paler than usual and shaking. She walked over to the couch and Dally sat up a bit, before Alice fell onto him, crying. "I d-dunno what to do D-Dally. I don't e-even know what r-real anymore," she said, sobbing. Dally sat all the way up, sitting indian style and watching her. Alice moved back and sat with her legs tucked underneath her, her hands covering her face, muffling the sobs.

"What do you mean Al?" Dally asked softly. He didn't want to hold her again, he could still remember the last time he had. Alice didn't uncover her face, just shook her head and cried louder. Dally grabbed her wrists and moved her hands away from her face. She didn't look the same when she cried...Alice looked less like a doll when she cried, as if she suddenly came to life or morphed into a living, breathing, emotional girl.

"Alice...what are you going on about now?" Dally asked, keeping her hands away from her face. She sniffled and hung her head, shaking.

"What if I'm not real? What if I'm just dreaming all of this up and when I wake up, I'll be someone else, with a different family and friends? What if I wake up and you aren't there?" She said miserably. Dally's bright eyes met her dark ones. He could read the emotions in her eyes now...she was scared and had the same look of a lost puppy that Johnny once had. Dally shook his head, driving the memory of his friend away.

"It's not gonna happen Alice. I'll be there when you wake up whether you like it or not. Okay? Just cool it," Dally commanded as he let go of her wrists. Alice wiped the tears away from her eyes and off of her face, sniffling patheticly.

"How do you know? What if you're just dreaming too?"

Dally scowled at her and pinched her arm. "Ow!" Alice yelped, holding on to her arm and looking at him, hurt.

"You aren't dreaming Alice...pain is real and you felt it," he said firmly. But he thought about what she had said. _'What if I am just dreaming all of this...'_ Dally wondered. _'Maybe I never even died.' _

Alice lowered her gaze, a thoughtful look on her face as she rubbed her arm. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was a bit red, but she was taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. After a few minutes, she told him what had happened at Christine's funeral.

"I'm scared Dally...for a minute, it was like Christine never existed at all. I erased her from my mind completely...I don't wanna live in someplace in my head that no one else can get to! I don't wanna go crazy!"

"Shut up Alice...I'm not gonna let ya blow up like that," Dally said, his voice calm like nothing had happened. It didn't comfort Alice, she still looked so...real. Dally wasn't used to her looking like she was real. He was used to her looking like some glass doll that was sitting up on a shelf to high to reach. This Alice was a girl that was real, but too far away to talk to. Dally bit back a sigh as he wrapped an arm across her shoulders and pulled her to him.

Alice let out a small sob, the tears falling again as Dally held her close with one arm around her shoulders and the other one on his knee. He winced, the feelings rushing through him again, as she sat on his lap like a frightened six-year old. He remembered feeling something like this before he had died...but it had only been once, but the memory was fuzzy and he couldn't place it.

"Alice? Oh, Alice, are you okay?"

Dally looked over at the door as Connie walked in, closing the door behind her and rushing over to her friend. Alice let her head fall on Dally's shoulder and refused to make eye-contact with Connie. "Do you want me to dance?" Connie asked with a small smile. Alice didn't respond. "Come on Alice, I'll dance just for you and cheer you up. Or, maybe I could make you something to eat. Waffles? I know you love waffles. Eggs! I'll make you my World Famous Crap Eggs, that's what I'll do, and you can watch."

A small smile played at Alice's lips and Dally remained silent as the pain slowly ebbed away and Connie took her hands, telling her some entertaining story of something she and Alice had done at school. He touseled her long hair. "She's not gonna let you go crazy either, kid."

"Nope, and if you do, well, I'll go with you! Every crazy person needs a partner in crime, don't they?" Connie asked, a smile on her face. Alice watched her and slowly slid off of Dallas's lap and off the couch.

"I'm not crazy..." She said softly. Connie's smile disappeared and she looked at Dally, worried.

"I know you aren't. But...I'll still be here for you whether you are or not," Connie said carefully. Alice stared at her for a moment, before silently turning away from her and walking upstairs. Dally was battling with himself; his old personality was starting to come back, and he was telling the new guy who had appeared in his abscence to forget her. He wasn't supposed to give a hang about anyone but himself.

"Poor Alice...she's been like this ever since her dad died..." Connie said sadly, looking at the stairs Alice had disappeared on. "She never had a good relationship with her dad. She always said how he never wanted to go anywhere and how they barely knew each other. She was always surprised when he remembered her name...but when he died...the look on her face was one that looked like she found out the world was about to end.

"I remember her telling me that she started questioning things...like, if her dad was ever really there...if she wasn't just in some movie or on some TV show or something. Alice even told me that, she used to imagine she was in one of those picture books and it was just a story that some bigger person was reading...I told her that she already knew who it was and she looked at me like I was crazy."

Connie paused, looking at Dally to make sure he was listening, which he reassured her he was. "When she asked who it was, I was surprised. I told her it was God and she laughed. She said that if God was real he wouldn't let little girls' fathers rot in holes in the ground...that was when I started to get worried. But you're here to help, right?"

"I'm here to try, I ain't making no guarentees," Dally said, his voice rough again. Connie looked sad, but she stood up from kneeling in front of the couch and walked to the front door. "If you aren't sure what to do, just tell her to call me, no matter what time it is, okay?" Connie said, before walking out of the house and closing the door behind her.

Dally wasn't sure how she knew that he wasn't sure on what he could do, but he didn't dwell on it. He simply turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, trying to block out the new Dallas that was telling him to check on with the noise. He remembered the promise he had made to himself not to care ever again...and he intended on keeping it.

_"If God were real he wouldn't let little girls' fathers rot in holes in the ground." _Dally could practically hear Alice saying that scornfully to Connie, an angry look on her face. He knew that he wasn't techincally rotting anywhere, but his body was...maybe just him being there had been enough to change Alice's mind about that, but he never noticed her pray in the time he had known her. He was surprised she wasn't at least praying for Paul and Soda.

Then again, neither was he.

xxxx

_Dear Paul, _

_The tension must be awful there. Mom has been working later than usual to bring in the money, because I can't seem to find a job for my life. But really, I've been trying to keep my grades up at school and Mom doesn't want me to have to worry about a job and school too. She refuses to let me drop-out however, but sometimes I wish I could. _

_I'm smiling right now, mostly because I'm content that my grammar and writing skills are better than your at the moment...but I'm worried too..._

_You see, I've been hiding something, and Connie just found out today, but that's because I felt I should tell her. She is my best friend after all. I'll tell you when I'm ready of course...and it isn't now, but we'll just stay I'm starting to believe in God again..._

_Life got pretty exciting a few days ago. I went to the Drive-in with Andrew and my other friends a few nights ago and a boy Ronnie...well...one of the things I've been hiding is the fact that Christine asked me to give some drugs to Ronnie during school that day and I know you must be thinking "Damnit Alice, why are you so stupid?" and I didn't get any pride from or anything, but...I can't really say no to a friend. I didn't get caught, but I got detention for walking in the halls without a pass..._

_Well, after detention, I talked to Andrew and we decided to go to the Drive-in. Well, Ronnie, drug boy and a couple of friends were there and...well they were pretty drugged up apparently, because they brought guns into the Drive-in and they thought it would be funny to shoot them off. _

_Panic ensued of course and Christine, Linda and I hid behind a car. I know a few people got shot while we were hiding but I need to pause from that and mention something first. _

_I met a boy...We'll just call him D in this. He's been really helpful a few times, but sometimes he reminds me of you. The way he teases me and annoys me and it makes me kind of sad. But he's also kind of cold and he's kind of mean looking. I've been trying to get through to him and it hasn't been working to well, but we're kind of alike. I mean, our looks are total opposites, but I can tell he's hiding something and you used to tell me that I had the same look so, that's why we're alike. _

_Anyway, D found us behind the car and it shocked Linda and Christine, that's for sure. A tough looking boy like that suddenly appearing out of no where. You're probably wondering why I trust this boy, the way I'm describing him, but he's got character to him and when the window of the car was shot, he got all cut up when he stopped the glass from falling on me. So he's a good person really. _

_He finally convinced Linda and Christine that if we made a run for it while Ronnie was still further down, we would make it. So we ran, but Christine fell behind because she had to run barefoot, because her heels were to high to run in. I dropped back and grabbed her hand and started to drag her a long but..._

_It was awful Paul, I was there the exact moment she died, and the last thing she saw was a terrified friend screaming as the light left her eyes and she slumped down. D swore at me and pulled me a long and I realize now that if he hadn't I probably would have died too..._

_Christine's funeral was today and Connie and I went. I saw the others there too of course, but D didn't go. He was waiting for me when I got home though...I left early, I couldn't take it anymore..._

_He's a good person and I mean it when I say that, I'm not just trying to convince you so you'll get off my back. But he tried his best to comfort me and Connie finally came back and tried her hand at it. It didn't help too much, but I felt like writing to you when I came up to my room..._

_It must seem like I'm right there as you read this, the way I keep writing how I talk. Jumping all over the place. I hope your kicking some major butt out there, Mom and I are rooting for you and Mom is praying (I've been trying, but it feels so weird...) and I haven't touched a thing in your room...well, I took your record player, but that's it. Don't worry, it still looks the same as when you left it I didn't draw flowers on it or anything. Promise. The record player and I will be waiting for you to get home, a smile on my face and elvis blaring from the record player, just for you. _

_Love like you can't imagine, _

_Alice _

_P.S. Please tell Soda I wish him luck and that Mom is praying for him too and that I'm making an effort to at least try. Also, tell him that I liked his note, I hung it up with his picture and I read it every day. He can be very...what's the word...supportive? No...encouraging! He can be very encouraging. I can't wait until you and him make it back, I'd love to meet him sometime.

* * *

_

I really like writing letters and it sucks because it may be awhile before I get to write another one for awhile so...sad sighs all around.

Alice is supposed to seem a bit scatter-brained. She's very confused and like me, having trouble keeping her thoughts straight...goodness...I dunno what else to say so...screw it.


	8. Disagreements

_First, I love Maruader for the free advertising on her profile. You should all love her too! _

_Second, Uh...weeeell, I still dunno where I'm gonna, go, but the story will probably be coming to a close soon...will Dally succeed? Hahaa! Who knows? No really...I dun know either..._

_Third, more mind wanderings. Oh, and swearing ahead as there is a rather big arguement ahead. Alice's mother also works late, if you didn't know, so Alice stays home alone most of the time. _

_Also, if you're confused about Alice, let's just say, she's close to being legally insane from my point of view...yeah._

_Anyway, We Sure Are In For A Show Tonight!_

* * *

Chapter 7: Disagreements

Dally walked up the steps to Alice's room, running his fingers through his hair. He had seen the clock on the kitchen wall, according to it the time was now six o'clock, pm. He had probably fallen asleep on the couch; when he became visble to everyone, it seemed that he got tired just like anyone else would.

Alice was sitting at her desk when he walked in, her head resting on her arm as she drew swirls on a piece of paper. "Have a good nap?"

Dally bristled, noticing the tone in her voice. "Yeah, I did. When's the old lady getting home?"

"She's not just some old lady, she's my mother and she won't be home until around nine...and no, I can't cook for shit and I know you probably can't either. So I dunno what I'm gonna do for dinner," Alice said quietly, her pencil slowly coming to a halt. She sat up and turned to look at him. Dally glared at her, his hands in the jacket she had given to him on the pretense that Chicago got very cold during the autumn and the winter. Alice was right, of course, it did get chilly and his jacket was with Ponyboy back in Tulsa, so he took it; he never thanked her.

"Dally...you've been changing...and I need to know..." Alice paused, searching for the right words. "The person I met before...and the person you're becoming now...which one is really you? Do you know?"

Dallas's glare lessened, but he hid his surprise at her question. Alice watched him as the seconds passed by in silence. "Of course I know," Dally said, his cocky tone returning to his voice when he finally answered. "It's the one standing right in front of you now."

Alice narrowed her eyes, her expression disbelieving, but she didn't press the subject. She stood up, sliding the chair back and walked past him. Dally stood there, dumbfounded. She would usually keep prodding at him for an answer. But he regained his composure a moment later, shrugging his shoulders and popping the collar of his jacket up, before walking back downstairs.

"Shit."

Dally coughed as a puff of white floated out of the kitchen, Alice following it, sputtering. She was covered in white and was rubbing at her eyes when she bumped into him, leaving white on his shirt. "Don't go in there," she gasped, coughing as she stumbled into the powder room. Dally peered in after her as she started the water in the sink.

"I had some problems with the flour..." Alice said, washing her hands. She looked up at him, leaning against the counter, flour in her hair and across her face. "All I know how to make is cookies and I can't even do that right."

Dallas laughed a bit and Alice heaved a sigh, looking at herself in the mirror. She snorted and shook her head a smile on her face. She shook her hair out with her fingers, the flour falling like snow to the floor. "I'm glad you don't need to eat," she muttered. "I'd feel awful if you were as hungry as I was."

"Maybe I am," Dally said with a sly grin. Alice watched him for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face, before she grabbed a cloth and wet it, wiping the flour from her cheeks and forehead. For the most part, the flour was out of her hair, and she had already gotten most of it off of her clothes as well.

"Dead people don't need to eat, Dally," Alice said as she slipped past him and walked into the kitchen, carrying the cloth with her. She was cleaning the floor when Dally stopped at the door.

"I can eat if I want to. I'm sure I've still got _some _of my bodily functions."

"Dallas," Alice began with a sigh, leaving the wet cloth on the floor. "I have never seen you walk into the bathroom once. I'm pretty sure your bodily functions are pretty much through."

Dally scolwed at her and he noticed that Alice tensed a bit, but her gaze never faltered. "How would you know? It's not your body."

Alice pursed her lips and stood up, straightening her skirt and turning to the fridge. Apparently, her looking for food was supposed to be a hint that that little discussion was over, but Dally was in a moody disposition. He walked up to her and shut the fridge, practically pinning her against it.

"Look," Dally began, narrowed blue eyes meeting black ones. "I'm sick and tired of this, Alice. I'm fuckin' sick of you bouncing from one mood to the next, I fuckin' tired of the way you talk to me. I'm tired of having to look over you because you're too damn thick-headed to know what's goin' on with you. You're an ignorant little-"

"You're no better!" Alice yelled, cutting his rant short. "All I ever get from you is something rude, or you'll tease me with whatever you can think of! You're anything but supportive Dally and from what I can tell, you're just as ignorant as I am! I'm fuckin' tired of the way you talk to me too. I'm fuckin' sick of your attitude and this...this cold person you're becoming.

"There's no one watchin' the show Dally, so you can just stop actin'! You're just as scared about things as I am and you're probably just as confused too. You need me to set you straight just as much as I need you, but as far as I'm concerned, the only thing we're doing is killing each other!" Alice, was shouting now, shoving him back. "Maybe I don't need you Dally. I have my friends, my family-"

"Oh bullshit, Alice, you don't have anyone. They don't get you at all and you know that!" Dally shouted, resisting the urge to hit her.

"Oh and you do?" Alice demanded, glaring at him.

"Maybe I don't. I've tried but you just shut everyone out! I'm startin' to get the feelin' that you don't even _want _my help. You like bein' the victim don't you?" Dally asked, grabbing her arms and glaring down at her. "Don't you?"

"No! I'm not a victim-"

"Right and my hair ain't blond," Dally scoffed, pushing her away. "Face it Alice, you're stickin' with what you know and what you know is being a victim to society."

"...So are you," Alice bit out. "You're just as bad as me Dally or else you would have given up the JD act a long time ago."

"It ain't an act kid," Dally said with a wolfish grin. "You don't know half the shit I've done. I earned my title as a JD and you've earned your's as a Victim, so let's leave it at that and call it a day."

"No! You don't get it do you? A JD ain't nothin' but a victim with a criminal record. You're no different than I am Dallas and I think you know that. I know you're not that thick-headed," Alice said, glaring as she shook her head slightly. Dally glared back at her, his fists clenched at his sides.

"I don't need you Dallas!" Alice yelled, a defiant look on her face. "I don't! I can handle this on my own!"

Dally grabbed her arms again, shaking her. "Alice, you can barely make it through a day without questioning who the hell you are, how can you think you can take care of yourself? You're a kid Alice that's all you are and you expect to handle this on your own?" the volume of his voice lowered and he stopped shaking her, noticing now that she was beginning to cry. "You _can't _do this by yourself, kid."

Alice, bit her lip, blinking away the tears that she didn't want to fall. "I..." but the protest faded and Alice hung her head, staring at her socks and Dally's boots. Dally loosened the grip on her arms as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him, hiding her face in his shirt near his shoulder. "I wish I didn't need you," Alice whispered. "I really do..."

Dally just kept his hands on her arms, looking up at the clock on the wall as the second hand ticked away the minutes. He knew she meant no offense by that statement, but he couldn't help but feel a little hurt when she said that. He was getting used to Alice (that didn't mean he liked everything about her) and sometimes, he really _did_ want to help her, but he couldn't.

He was still Dallas Winston, tough hood from New York and Tulsa, arrested at the age of ten and notorious for making even the most sacred of places, a candy store, dangerous. He just couldn't bring himself to let down the walls he had built up over the years down. Sure, he knew how to charm a girl well enough and maybe get some action in, but Alice wasn't a greaser girl and greaser girls rarely needed comfort.

Alice needed support all the time...and it wasn't something he was used to giving, especially to a girl he had only known for about a week. But, Dally figured that it would be hard for anyone to get too...comforting with someone they barely knew, but for Dally, it was damn near impossible.

Dally imagined that if he ever decided to have a kid, or ended up fathering one on accident, it would be as annoying as this. _'I'll never be able to leave this kid alone,' _Dally thought, frowning at the clock. The second hand had ticked away nearly three minutes. Sighing, he looked down at Alice, whose head was resting on his shoulder now, and tried to decide what to do. Her eyes were open, but it didn't seem like she was actually _seeing _anything. That was one thing Alice could do that Dallas couldn't.

Alice could completely shut down...he couldn't. No matter how much he tried, there was still something there; anger, hate, lust, and once in awhile, regret or sadness. But they were always there. Somehow, Alice had learned to turn those off. At least, Dally assumed she had. He figured he wasn't too far off though.

Another minute passed and Dally was a bit sick of standing in the same place, so, he dropped Alice's arms and and knelt down a bit, grunting as he picked her up as if she were a five year old he could easily rest on his hip. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.

"You aren't as light as you think ya are Alice," Dally said, his voice strained. She was about the same size as he was and he hadn't been the most muscular out of the gang. Now, he wasn't weak, but he wasn't Darry either, so carrying a full grown girl around wasn't a walk down the street. Going up the stairs didn't make it any easier.

"I never said I was light," Alice said quietly. She was so close to his neck, Dally felt her lips move. He repressed a shiver and moved his head slightly in an attempt to get away from her. "But you could've guessed. You don't see me trying to carry you around," she continued. Dally could feel her lips move in a smile. He pushed the door to her bedroom open with the toe of his boot, kicking it shut behind him once he had slipped inside. "You're so stupid sometimes, Paul," Alice murmured.

Dally felt an unwelcome twist in his chest. _'Paul? I don't even look like her brother," _Dally thought with a glare as he dropped her unceramoniously on her bed. Alice's eyes were still blank. She was still shut off...

That was the first time that Dally realized that maybe, he wouldn't be able to get Alice out of the hole she had gotten into. It was too deep for him to reach her and if he went down to get her, there was no gurantee he'd be able to get out. It was also the first time he realized why Connie was so worried, so scared. She was afraid of losing her friend, but she was also afraid of Alice as a person.

Alice could be very convincing and if she was really as messed up as Dally thought she was, she could drag anyone down there with her if she wanted to. Dally sighed as Alice curled up and rolled over, her back to the door. He never did get the breaks...

* * *

_A filler with a point? Nonsense! But that's pretty much all it was folks. I have done the unthinkable and made a filler chapter have a freakin' point. The point? Well, if you dun know, ask me. 'Cause I think most people should be able to get it. Oooor, you could ignore this as I am once again proving I have slight insomnia and doing this all with a scattered mind. _


	9. Drunkards

_Fun fact: Most everyone is fun when they're drunk. Another Fun Fact: The Reading And Writing Honors Class pronounces Soc, Sock. And we always will. Another Fun Fact: Clair agrees that Julie is a lot more like her in this chapter. If you ever need a reference to the kind of friends I have, just think of Julie, she **is** basically Clair with a different name. _

_I'm sorry for the long wait, I had writers block for the longest time and I'm still debating in wether or not I should cheat with the Soda dying issue. I was also in the hospital and I have to be on the look out for pain, so I may or may not be in the hospital again. _

_One of my friends, Tony, was also diagnosed with cancer. No, he isn't the same Tony in the story, but I've known him for a bit so...yeah, some problems that I have to sort through. _

_As Clair would say,Reality is hitting and hitting hard. _

* * *

Chapter 8: Drunkards

After the arguement and Alice's shut down, things were a bit more tense than usual between her and Dally. Neither of them wanted another arguement in the near future so they stayed at a distance, watching each other carefully like an animal might.

Alice kept herself busy with her friends and school, any thoughts of Christine gone, or she'd keep an eye out for another letter from her brother and Soda. Dallas, however, was very bored for the next few days.

Alice didn't ask him for help, she didn't talk to him, she didn't mention him to Connie and Connie never asked. They knew he was there but they weren't acknowleding his presence anymore.

During that time, Tony visted quite often, but Leann usually wasn't there. Dally wasn't sure why and was a bit disappointed. Going this long without any sort of contact at all was starting to get to him. He'd even appreciate Julie's company at this point. Which is just what he got while Alice was at school.

"Hey Elf Man," a cheerful voice called from the front door. Dally was in Alice's room, sitting on her bed. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. The one day Julie had to come and he was in no mood to talk to her. He heard her run up the stairs and waited for the door to burst open.

"Moping around? Jeeze, didn't think you were the type."

"Yeah well-" Dally stopped looking at Julie. "What the fuck did you do to your hair?"

"You like?" Julie asked with a grin, bouncing the curls with her hand. From the tips of her hair to nearly the middle, her hair was a bright red. "Poppy red. Did it by myself too. Leann helped with the back though. You should have seen the looks I got walking down the street!"

Dally stared at her. It wasn't that the color was a bad choice, it blended with her blonde hair just fine, it was the fact that she had picked such a bright red and only half of her hair to color. He got the feeling that no one but Julie would ever be brave enough to do something like _that_ to their hair.

"You look like you belong in a circus."

"Ah, that's my night job," Julie replied. This girl never seemed to miss a thing. "An artist can express themselves, so why can't I?"

"With poppy red hair?"

". . .Yeah. You know, it sounds stupid when you say it. It must be the accent."

"Or maybe it's just a stupid idea."

"That's impossible!" Julie huffed, crossing her arms. "It's a brilliant idea! And I'm really hungry now. Er, well, I imagine I'd be hungry. I woke up at six in the morning and it is now. . .not six. Come on, let's get you out of the house, I need to talk to you anyway."

"Why can't you talk to me in here?"

"Because! Chicago's being nice and giving us a realitively nice October day! Come on, it gets cold here pretty fast," Julie said, grabbing Dally's hand and yanking him up off the bed.

xxxx

"Now, I know you're probably thinking, 'This crazy broad has no right to be dragging me around to places', but I do," Julie began as they walked down the street. Julie had a firm grip on his hand, probably so Dally wouldn't think about slipping away from her and going somewhere else.

"That arguement you had-"

"You came all the way here to get onto me for that?"

"What? No, don't be stupid. I came here to show you my hair. This conversation is second in priority," Julie said with a wave of her free hand. Dally couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. "But I'm not upset with you. I think you both learned something from the arguement and there's certainly nothing bad with learning. Are you listening?"

"Yeah," Dally replied gruffly, glaring at the people staring at them as they walked by. "I'm not starin' at you and your ugly broad, look somewhere else," Dally snapped at one couple as they stopped to gawk at them. They quickly hurried on, the woman talking animatedly. Probably about how rude some people were. Dally snorted and Julie tugged on his hand, making his arm jerk.

"Don't be so mean, though I'm flattered that you care, there are other ways to tell people to lay off," Julie said, her nose in the air. Dally was reminded vaguely of a Soc. That is, if her hair weren't so weird.

"You can glare at them, you can flip them off, you can do both, like I am now," Julie said through clenched teeth. "Look somewhere else!"

Dally shook his head and looked up at the trees that lined the edge of the street. They made a canopy above the street with their branches and Dally thought someone must have gone through a lot of trouble planning that out. _'What a stupid thing to plan.' _

"Hot dog? No, I know what they put in those things. . .maybe pizza. Do you like pizza?"

"What?"

". . .You know what, I don't think you should get to pick. I- Oh, Portillos! Come on!" Julie said happily, pulling him along.

xxxx

"Dally, if you don't up the anty, you're gonna have to start all over," Julie said before eating a french fry. She had paid for their lunch since she had a job other than being a guardian.

_'Maybe she was serious about the circus thing,'_ Dally thought, looking out the window that they were sitting in front of. He winced as Julie kicked his knee.

"Listen! And eat your food. If you don't I will and I'll be horrendously _fat_. Think of me and my health needs!" Julie said, trying to get Dally to eat a french fry.

"Stop it, before I bite your hand," Dally said, his eyes still on the window. Julie sighed and sat back, setting the french fry down.

"Like some psycho chiuaua? Face it Elf Man, the only one that'll get hurt is you and your image," Julie said with a shake of her head as she continued eating. "But you better figure out how to help Alice, and possibly yourself, out of this rut you both seem to be stuck in. Maybe things will get easier if her brother gets back from the war, maybe it won't. But you better figure out a game plan and figure it out soon."

Dally shrugged and watched the Chicago people walk by. They weren't as rude as the people on the New York streets had been. They all probably had places to get to anyway, they didn't have time to start yelling at people that got in their way.

"Dallas, if you don't pay attention I'm gonna climb over this table and molest you," Julie threatened. Dally looked at her, confused and slightly disgusted. Julie was laughing.

"If someone else heard that-"

"They did. Now _pay attention_," She said firmly, throwing a french fry at his forehead. "And don't forget to eat. I paid money so your stomach could be happy."

Dally ate, occasionally throwing a french fry into Julie's hair because it would get stuck, but she'd throw it back the second it was out of her hair, so it was more like a small war during lunch.

"Feeling better?" Julie asked, looking up at Dally with a smile. Dally didn't answer but Julie didn't press him to answer either. She was too busy staring people down. He had felt a bit better, like he was back at home with someone in the gang, even though Julie was obviously a girl. But he felt worse than before, remembering the gang, because he knew he couldn't see them.

When Dally and Julie got back to Alice's house, they saw Alice sitting on the front step, a frown on her face and her chin in her hands.

"Hey! Nice to meet you Alice, I'm Julie," she said, standing in front of Alice with an outstretched hand. Alice, looked up at her and stared at her hair for a moment before shaking her hand.

"Uh, nice to meet you too."

"I'm a guardian like Dallas," Julie said with a smile.

"What's wrong kid?" Dally asked, ruffling Alice's hair. Alice glared at him for a moment before sighing and leaning against the railing that surrounded the front steps and small porch.

"I think Mom got a boyfriend...she's been acting different and staying out later than usual," Alice explained. "I don't want her to be sad, but...I really don't want another Dad, either."

Dally frowned, crossing his arms and watching Alice. He understood that she didn't want a new father just yet, but he didn't see what the big deal was. "Have you met him yet?"

"No, she hasn't mentioned anything yet, so maybe I'm wrong. But still, it'd be nice if she told me."

"I bet I know what can cheer everyone up, even Dally! Come on. Alice? Do you have a car?"

xxxx

"Ya know, for an Elf Man, you're kinda sexy," Julie said with a giggle, taking another drink from her bottle and leaning against Dally, who was ignoring her for a waitress that walked by. "I'm serious! You should be a movie...uh...word?" Julie said, looking to Alice who blinked slowly.

"What?"

"Word."

"Movie...star," Alice said slowly, laughing. Julie snapped her fingers and pointed at Alice, a grin on her face.

"That's it! A movie star. Dallas Winston: The Movie Star Elf Man!"

"I'm no good at actin'," Dally muttered, his speech harder to decipher with his accent added to his slurred words. He tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling, the beer bottle hanging loosely from his fingers. He and Julie had pretty much smuggled Alice into the little smoke filled bar they were in and had forced her to at least try one alcholic beverage.

Alice had winced, coughed and spluttered at her first drink, which had Julie and Dally laughing. So to shut them up, she chugged the next one and managed to only wince. Things sort of spiraled downward from there.

"Sure ya are," Alice said, hitting Dally's arm lightly. "You are a brilliant actor, honest. I don't care if you never acted a damn day in your life. You can see it in your eyes," she said, grabbing the top of his head and forcing him to look down at her. "Yup, right there."

Dally blinked and backed away before Alice could poke him in the eye with her unsteady finger. Julie squeaked when he leaned back against her. "Dally! I wanna be on top!"

"Fuck no," Dally said, taking Julie's beer and finishing it off. "I'm always on top."

"Oh, I know!" Alice said with excitement, digging in Dally's jean pockets. Dally raised his eyebrows.

"I don't think you'll find what you're looking for in my pockets kid. Give it another try."

Alice pulled a quarter out of his jeans and held it up with a triumphant, drunken grin on her face. "We flip this coin," she said, throwing it up.

"Heads!"

"Tails!"

The three sat for a moment and when the quarter didn't come back down in front of them, they became a bit worried. "Where'd it go?" Julie asked, pushing Dally forward and looking on the seat of the corner booth they were in.

"Has anyone seen my quarter? It would have fallen out of the sky," Julie called loudly, giggling and pulling Dally back onto her. "I need it to figure out who gets to be on top."

A few people replied with shut up and one "Why don't you take turns?" but no one had seen the quarter.

"I think I found it," Alice announced, narrowing her eyes and leaning over Dally to the small flat surface the filled in the gap between the wall and the back of the booth. "Sorry if my chest is in your face," Alice muttered, reaching for the quarter.

"Trust me kid, I don't mind at all."

"It's tails."

"Yes! Get under me right now Dallas Winston!"

xxxx

Julie winced and held back Alice's hair as she leaned over and threw up on the curb again. Alice shivered the saliva hanging from her mouth before she spit a few times to get rid of it.

"Aw, Alice, I'm sorry," Julie slurred, patting her back. "I forgot you don't usually drink. We should have told you to take it easy."

"We shouldn't have let her drink at all," Dally said picking up a beer bottle from the sidewalk and chucking it into the street, grinning when it shattered against the asphalt. "We'll both probably be fired now."

"Don't be stupid, I drink all the time. Besides, I'm off duty, my charge doesn't need me anymore, so I'm free to take a break before I get a new match."

"Hm! I forgot to ask," Dally said, pointing at Julie. "How long have I been dead?"

"A year. The book took awhile, but you don't notice actual time passing up in between," Julie said as Alice heaved again. "Dally, get over here and take care of your charge. I'm gonna go get some wet napkins or something," Julie commanded, standing up and stumbling back into the bar.

Dally grunted and walked over to Alice,kneeling next to her as she half coughed, half sobbed, before spitting again. He carefully pulled back her hair.

"You should cut your hair kid, you have way to much of it."

"Alice."

"Huh?"

"Can you please call me Alice? I like when people call me by name."

"Alice..." Dally muttered. "You have too much hair."

"My dad liked my hair," Alice said with a sigh as she leaned back slightly. She gagged and leaned forward again, taking deep breaths. "I keep it long for him."

Dally looked at Alice's hair again while he held it back for her. It was an odd way to show your love for someone, but maybe it was one of the ways Alice respected his memory, like her not wanting another father.

"I don't think your old man would be too happy to see you like this. I shouldn't have let you drink anything."

Alice laughed a bit, leaning back against Dally, as she looked up at the sky. "Ya know, I think he'd think of it as a lesson. 'Drinking does nothing but get you sick Ally. I'm sure you won't do it again'. I think he may have even liked you. We always did like the same people, but that was really all we had in common."

"Alice, the only parents that ever liked me were Soda's," Dally said as Julie half ran half tripped out of the bar and over to Alice.

"Paper towels! Do you know how lucky you are?" Julie said with a grin as she gently wiped Alice's face with the paper towels. "It's definately better than napkins. Alright," Julie tossed the paper towels on the sidewalk. "Let's get you home."

xxxx

"Stop stumbling everywhere, I'm gonna fall off," Alice snapped, her hands holding onto Dally's shoulders so she wouldn't fall off of his back. Alice would adivse anyone she knew not to hitch a piggyback ride from a drunk though. Especially one about the same size as you.

"Maybe you should, you're kinda heavy," Dally snapped back. Alice rolled her eyes and rested her chin on his shoulder, Julie trying to skip along side them.

"Hi my name is Julie, my friends are unruly," Julie sang, laughing and strutting along. "My hair sure is pre-tty, but I hate my ki-tty."

"Hi my name is Alice, I live in a palace, uhm...my hand has a callous and...I know an elf named Dallas," Alice sang, laughing. Dally snorted and shook his head. He enjoyed Alice's company a bit more when she was drunk.

* * *

_Alright, I was watching Jimmy Neutron with my sister one day because she refused to change the channel and the girls were playing jump rope and singing this song with their names. I know that the last part had to rhyme with your name. Like Cindy's. "Hi my name is Cindy, Chicago is windy" and I dunno how she finished it cause next thing I knew she was in the boys bathroom. Er...yeah. But that's where I got that from. Last I saw Clair drunk, she was making out with a boy and playing DDR really well, but I think she had some trouble walking. Which is weird. _

_Anywho, this story will be ending soon, but it'll get happier, don't worry. _

_Yes, Clair's tips are now Poppy Red. She said it would be cool if Julie did the same. I agreed. _


	10. D's Identity And Deadly Balloons

_Uhm...ho-hum. Brain dead..._

_Blah, just blah. _

_Uhm, yeah. Jello balloons are nice. _

* * *

Chapter 9: D's Identity And Deadly Balloons

_Dear Alice, _

_I dunno if I like the sound of this D guy, so you be sure to be cautious around him. Soda's back with a dog. A german shepard named Tank. He's a big guy, that's for sure, but he's a friendly dog and he sure does help keep the mood up a bit, along with Soda of course. _

_The guys are used to him joking around, but even Soda admits he gets tired of joking sometimes. But you've got both me and Soda curious about what you're hiding. Your grammar is also not better than mine, I'm just in more of a hurry. _

_I am thinking you're a right twit for taking those drugs and if you were my kid, I'd beat your head in. I'm sorry about Christine though. I'm just glad you made it out okay. _

_By the way, Elvis is capitalized. _

_Soda and I are kicking major butt out here, just like you wished. We're like super heroes. Soda got a letter from his brother the same day yours came in and boy was he happy. Nearly started dancin' all over the damn place. We were worried the 'Nams would notice him and shoot him down, but he kept himself under control and read his brothers letter, than took your letter and read it too. _

_I'm sorry that Mom's been working so late. I'm also sorry you can't get a job. Go look for one you lazy bum. Halloween is coming up, but I guess you're probably gonna skip that holiday. Thanksgiving is coming up too. Send me a turkey leg if you can. _

_Sorry this is a short letter, I'm feeling a bit anxious right now and I can't think straight. I love you and mom both, but I sent her a seperate letter. _

_Love, _

_Paul, your super hero brother _

xxxx

_Dear Alice, _

_Hey baby! Haha, nah, I'm just kiddin'. How you doin' kid? Now I have to wait forever just to know. _

_I bet your brother told you about my dog, Tank. He sure seems like one. A miniture tank dressed like dog. Never thought I'd see one of those. Man, it sounds like back home with the shooting at the drive-in. The place I used to hang out at? A girl got shot once there too. I didn't know her, but it was still sad. _

_I'm happy that I have two groups cheering for me, gives me all the more reason to get home with all of my limbs and my life. _

_D? I feel like I've known him... _

_Or, at least seen him once in my life. Hell, what do I know? I'm just a guy that works at a gas station. But I'm doin' better than you, Miss. No Job. _

_You should work at a gas station. You meet a lot of people there and sometimes there are regulars who slip you extra cash if they like you. But most people are just in a hurry. But it'll keep you out of the drugs._

_It's been hard keeping up a good mood when you see all of these boys getting carted to the doctor here. Moanin' and swearin' and screamin'. Most of them are my age, but some of them are older. A few of them have wifes and kids at home. Makes me kind of sad to hear about that. _

_I planned on gettin' married once, but she moved to Florida to live with her grandma. Man, I loved her somethin' awful...but now I have a new girl to get home to, right? Haha. I have to see my brothers and friends back in Tulsa first though. Then I'll come to see you and give you the biggest hug you could ever imagine. Then I'll steal you away! _

_No, I won't do that. We barely know each other! I think a hug will do just fine. Your brother keeps your picture with him all the time. You, your mom and your dad too. _

_I have a picture of my gang with me from back home, but that's pretty much it. I didn't want to take the picture of my parents and lose it out here, my older brother Darry would skin me alive. _

_Don't forget! Keep smiling!_

_-Sodapop P. Curtis_

xxxx

"Dally, hold still! I need to take this picture for Soda!"

"I hate pictures, Alice, now get that thing out of my face before I break it."

"You can't break my camera! It was a present!"

"Alice!"

"Ha! Got your picture!"

"Alice, get back here right now!"

xxxx

_Dear Soda, _

_In this letter is a mission. _

_Just kidding. _

_There's a picture of D. Dallas. I'm pretty sure you know him. _

_Are you kidding? I never stop smiling! It's starting to creep people out. And I don't think I wanna work at a gas station here, it'd probably get robbed and they'd shoot me in the eye or something. Then, if I lived, they'd probably fire me for not being polite. _

_I'm sorry about the picture, if you don't understand it or think I'm pulling a prank. Dallas is actually my guardian angel now...it's weird I know and it was weirder for me because I wasn't very religious. I gave that up when my Dad died..._

_He's doing a good job, but he really misses all of you guys...I don't think he remembers how he died. That, or he won't talk about it. I've asked him, but I guess that's kind of rude, now isn't it? _

_Dallas wasn't happy about the picture though, nearly tackled me to the ground trying to break my camera. _

_It's Wives, not wifes. It's a hard word, I know, I used to mess it up all the time..._

_Nothing really left to say..._

_Sincerely,_

_Alice_

xxxx

"That's him? That D guy?" Paul asked, looking over Soda's shoulder at the picture Alice had sent in his letter. Paul's letters had come that day too, but Alice talked about little things going on at school and about the holidays. She didn't mention D to him anymore.

"Yeah," Soda said weakly. Paul watched him carefully. He had been staring at the picture for awhile now, the same, shocked look on his face. He refused to let Paul see the letter. "It's nothing, she just sent a short note on how she's been keeping up her smiling and the picture. That's it."

Soda didn't make any jokes and hardly smiled at all that day. Paul was worried he wouldn't be able to pay attention to what was going on and would get himself killed, but he stayed prettyfocused.

But he barely ate anything when they stopped to take a break from their recon and when they got back to the base, he sat on his cot with the picture on one side and a pen and paper on the other.

He sat like that for awhile, before sighing and laying down to go to sleep. What ever Alice had sent him must have shocked him pretty bad if he couldn't think of a single thing to write, but Paul couldn't think what it could've been for the life of him.

His first thought was maybe Soda had known the boy in the picture from somewhere and Alice had admitted her love for said boy. Paul would be a bit upset if that happened. Then he wondered if maybe she had hinted on loving Soda. But Alice wouldn't fall in love with someone she'd only spoken to through letters. Two letters, to be precise, and she wasn't shallow enough to fall in love with him just because he was handsome.

Paul went to sleep that night very frustrated.

xxxx

Alice stifled a laugh, causinga small snort to come from her. Leann and Julie had been going through different pictures with her in the living room. The pictures were scattered on the floor. Tony was sitting on the couch with Dally and both seemed pretty absorbed in the TV show.

"Dally, c'mere and look at this," Alice said, looking up at him and waving him over. Dally sighed and slid off the couch to the floor, leaning over with a scowl on his face. She held up the picture for him to see.

He remembered the picture being taken by Tony at the park a few days ago, but he didn't remember the girls making faces at the camera. Dally however had turned his head slightly, so he wasn't even looking at the camera. He glared at the picture.

"You're making those faces at _me_?" Dally asked as he glared at the girls. Leann bit her lip and looked at Julie who was whistling and refusing to look at him.

"What gave you that idea?" Alice asked casually, plucking the picture from his fingers. "We'd never do that to _you_, Dally."

Dally grinned and Alice scooted away from him.

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Dally said, standing up and walking away. The girls exchanged looks, before gathering up the pictures and slipping them into Leann's purse.

"Tone, you have _no_idea where we went, go it?" Alice said, before standing up and yanking open the front door. Julie and Leann waved to Tony, who waved back with a smile and ran out the front door with Alice.

Dally strolled back in, a small bucket full of balloons. "You know where they went, don't you?" Dally asked with a smirk. Tony laughed.

"What's in them?"

"Water...jello. Alice made it, so no one ate it."

"I know where they are," Tony said with a grin, pulling himself into his wheel chair.

"Great."

xxxx

Alice jumped, covering her ears as Leann screamed.

"Dallas!" Leann screeched, looking down at herself. Dallas was laughing, holding a balloon in his hand.

"If you were guys I'd be beatin' the tar outta you right now. You don't make faces at a greaser."

Alice and Julie watched as Leann wiped green off of her outfit.

"I'm gone," Julie said, turning and running.

"Yup, me too," Alice said, following suit.

"You're just gonna leave me with a psycho with water and...something else balloons?" Leann called after them, stomping her foot on the sidewalk. She watched as a balloon soared over her head and broke on the sidewalk a few feet from the other girls' feet.

Dally shoved a balloon in Leann's arms as he ran by.

"I can't throw!" Leann called after him. She sighed and watched as Tony wheeled past her. She rolled her eyes and handed the balloon to a man that walked by her. "Here, you keep it," she said before darting off.

* * *

_We all know Dally's a little moody. He's just letting out his annoyance in a not so violent way. But a way that will ruin a person's clothes, which is devasting for any girl...ya know why? Because not all of us carry a change of clothes. _


	11. Daughter vs Mother

_Oooh, the drama of it all. I suppose I should change it to Supernatural/Drama, eh? This whole story will probably be officially dedicated to Maruader for her support and to Clair (Julie) as well, for her support and editing...though we're planning on going back and fixing it uponce it's all done. _

_Anywhooo, this chapter is short, just to get a new part in Alice's life in, so it's Alice centric, with only a small appearence from Dally. Made me kinda sad, because I love him dearly, but he didn't really have much place in the chapter. _

_Which I'm sure someone will argue with, but really, Dally's not the best Guardian you could ask for. Remember that! He's still got an internal conflict that has to be resolved. Hopefully, you've been noticing his slight changes throughout the story. But they're small, so maybe I'm the only one who caught it. _

* * *

Chapter 10: Daughter vs Mother

Alice walked into the house, trying to get the jello out of her clothes. She had made the jello wrong, so it was less jiggly and more liquid, so it stuck to her clothes. Tony's mother had seen them walking back and had picked up Tony then. She looked like she was in a hurry, so she declined an invitation for some coffee...which Alice would have made.

"Alice, what on Earth is on your clothes?"

"Jello," Alice replied simply, looking up. Her eyes widened. Sitting at the small kitchen table was a man. "Uhm...hi."

He smiled and waved before her mom sprang into action. "Alice, this is Roger Dobson. A friend of mine."

"...Friend. Yeah. Right, er, nice to meet you Roger."

"Jean," Roger said, in an almost scolding tone. "I think you should tell her. You can't keep avoiding it."

"That's okay," Alice said briskly. "I think I already know. I figured it out; but don't worry Mom, if you don't want me to know and would rather let me know some other time, that's fine by me."

Alice stormed up stairs, ignoring her mother's protests and calls and walked into her room. Dally appeared on her bed, sitting on the edge and slouching slightly.

"Did you know Christine is a guardian now? Saw her up there-" Dally paused, noticing Alice was taking deep breaths and blinking rather quickly. "What's wrong, kid?"

"She lied! That...oh!" Alice growled and picked up one her stuffed animals, whipping it at her door. "She had a boyfriend the whole time and he's sitting down there now and she _still _refuses to tell me! What kind of mother does that?" She demanded, turning back to Dallas. "Can I punch you?"

Dallas stared at her for a moment. "No," he said firmly. "Listen kid, how can you be sure-"

"'Hi honey, this is my friend, Roger Dobson!'" Alice began. She seemed to always impersonate people in the worst ways when she was angry. "'Jean, I think you should tell her, you can't keep avoiding it.' How could I _not _know? Are you sure I can't punch you?"

"Damn it, you aren't punching me!" Dally snapped. "Punch that stupid rabbit. You didn't have a problem launching him into your door."

"Well, I feel bad for that now," Alice grumbled, plopping down on the bed next to him. They sat for a minute, before Alice raised a fist and punched Dallas in the arm. She then proceeded to hit her head on his shoulder.

"...That didn't help did it?"

"No."

"Then why would you even bother?" Dally growled, rubbing his arm.

"Because you deserve it anyway," Alice said with a sigh. "This isn't fair Dally...at all! I mean, wouldn't you be mad?"

"Well, hell, I think my old man would be more upset than me if my mom brought some guy home," Dally said with a shrug, digging in his coat pocket for a cigarette and his lighter.

"You can't smoke in here."

Dallas closed his eyes and lowered his head, trying to control his temper. He sighed and left the cigarettes and lighter where they were.

"I'm serious though, wouldn't you?"

"No, Alice, I wouldn't. I'd ignore it just like I always ignore stuff myparents did.They didn't give a flyin' shit about me and I didn't give a shit about them. It was sort of a mutual agreement."

"...So...I should ignore him."

"Hell, I dunno. I ain't goodfor advice Alice. What do you think?"

Alice blinked slowly and stared at her door, her head still resting on Dally's shoulder. It was quiet in the house except for the hushed conversation downstairs. Alice squeaked when Dally suddenly disappeared and she fell sideways onto the bed.

"Thanks for the warning," Alice mumbled as her bedroom door opened. She looked up at her mother, a scowl on her face. "Oh, so you finally decided to tell me?"

"Alice...I know I should have told you sooner-"

"Yeah, that would have been ideal, now wouldn't it? I mean, most people like to know if they're gonna get a replacement Dad."

"Alice, don't be like that. So I made a mistake, but I was afraid that you would react like this. Paul-"

"Paul isn't here!" Alice shouted, sitting up. "Paul's in a jungle somewhere risking his life for some stupid reason that doesn't even matter! So don't use him as an example, because I doubt you told him! He doesn't hide things from me, he never did, so he would have told me if he had known!"

"I never told him, but he would have handled this much better than you are."

"Dad died less than three years ago, my brother is in vietnam, and you waltz in with a boyfriend? Yeah, I suppose I could have handled it _much _better."

Alice watched as her mother pursed her lips. "Yes, I think you could have."

Alice's jaw dropped slightly. "Are you _kidding me_? Let's take a look at this from my point of view, hm? A sixteen year old girl who lost her father when she was thirteen, who now feels guilty because she really wasn't a good enough daughter to him, finds out her brother is being sent to Vietnam. Now, to her, her family is falling apart. A while after her brother leaves, she sees one of her best friends get shot in the head and die right in front her.

"Now, her mother waltzes in as if nothing is wrong, with a boyfriend, who was hidden from her. Not only that, but her mother still hid him from her when he was sitting right in front of her! To her, her mother is a greedy liar who didn't want to take into consideration her children's feelings about this new boyfriend so she hid it from them so _she_ could be happy," Alice crossed her arms and glared at her mother.

"Not lookin' too good now is it? I would venture to say that if you were on trial for this, you would lose."

"Alice, you're being unreasonable. You haven't even given him a chance."

"Oh, well, that's because I didn't know I _had_ to. I thought he was just a _friend_, I didn't think there was a chance he could be a replacement Dad," Alice said with a laugh. "Maybe you'll think to tell me next time, after all I am your daughter," she said as she opened her bedroom door. "That should be important, shouldn't it? What your daughter wants?"

Alice didn't wait for her mother's answer and walked out of her bedroom. She bounced down stairs and stopped at the small table next to the couch where they put mail. There was a letter for her. Alice picked it up, grabbed her school jacket and walked out the front door, ignoring Roger's questioning, but sympathetic look.

She could sense Dally close by, but he didn't show himself, which suited her just fine. She was too frustrated at the moment and Dally usually wasn't one to help with frustration. Sighing Alice fingered the letter in her hands carefully. Looking up she saw a bench up ahead and after checking to make sure it wasn't someone's temporary home, she sat down.

"You better have something good," Alice muttered to the letter as she ripped the envelope open. Carefully unfolding the letter, in case something was inside that could fall out, Alice held her breath. It was Sodapop's handwriting.

xxxx

_Dear Alice,_

_It took me forever to get up the courage to write this. I was afraid of admitting it, but...I can't think of any other way you could have gotten a hold of Dally's picture..._

_I guess I believe you. I mean, it's good to know that he's doing okay. I wonder if he's seen Johnny up there. He still goes up there, right? _

_Anyway I have some good news that I heard. Your brother is going to be able to come home soon. I'm kind of sad to see a new buddy leave, but I'm more happy that he's not gonna be stuck here no more and can see his friends and family in Chicago again. You take care of yourself City Girl. Tell Dally he better not slip up and get you killed and that things really aren't the same without him and Johnny around anymore. Pony's been miserable and I know he would kill me if he found out I told, but Steve cried like a baby when they died. _

_-Sodapop P. Curtis_

_P.S. Paul was too anxious to write a letter. He can't concentrate, but he can't wait to get back home. _

xxxx

Alice stared at the letter for what seemed like forever, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. _'He's coming home! He's finally coming home!' _

Alice's shocked face morphed as a wide smile appeared on her face as she held the letter close. "And I'm the first to know...he's coming home!"

Thanksgiving was coming soon too. Alice wasn't sure if he would make it back before then, but if he did, that'd be amazing. For the moment, any thoughts of her mother and Roger were gone. All Alice could think of was her brother and Soda.

Her smile faltered a bit. Soda wouldn't be coming back for awhile, he just got there...but she'd keep sending him letters. It was the least she could do. Just because Paul was coming home soon didn't mean she'd have to stop, hell it gave her more of a reason than anything.

Alice stood, armed with her letter, and walked back home. She'd face this new boyfriend head on, for Paul's sake. He wouldn't want to come home to a fighting family.

* * *

_A P.S. from me to you: I'm planning on this story ending soon. Once it's done, there'll be an epilouge and then...Fin. Officially. I had fun with this story while it lasted of course. I'm sad that it has to end. _


	12. A Very Merry Un Birthday

_Just a filler chapter. Ehm, yeah. I'm thinking that there will definately have to be a sequel. Alice will still be in it, but Dally is going to have a new person to watch over by then. I just don't know who yet, I haven't though of the character, so, it may take awhile for the sequel to start. Anyway, a few more chapters I suppose. I'm just sort of hitting writer's block, so be patient with me. _

* * *

Chapter 11: A Very Merry Un-birthday

Jean looked up as Alice pushed open the front door and walked inside, a smile on her face as she slipped out of her coat and closed the door behind her. Alice carefully hung her coat on the hooks on the wall behind the door and dug in the pocket.

Jean bit her lip, not really sure what to say. The last thing she wanted was to get into another argument with her daughter, and she didn't want to spark another burst of anger. She felt the need to say something, though, and received an opportunity to when Alice pulled a piece of paper out of her coat pocket.

"What's that?"

Alice looked up, her eyes resting on Roger for a moment before looking at her mother. "A letter from Soda," Alice said simply, shrugging as she walked into the kitchen where they were sitting. She was holding the letter to her chest, refusing to let either of them catch a glimpse of it.

"Soda?" Roger asked, curiosity obvious in his voice. Alice nodded, reaching up and opening a cabinet next to the fridge. She assumed he was probably thinking she was receiving letters from a beverage.

"Yeah, Sodapop P. Curtis. Though I'm pretty sure it's Private Sodapop now. Funny, right?" Alice said, smiling as she grabbing a small bag of cookies from the shelf in the cabinet and closing the cabinet door. Jean smiled, though she still looked a bit worried. Alice was acting as if nothing had happened.

"I suppose it is," Roger said with a laugh. "So, who is this Soda?"

"A boy in Paul's unit in Vietnam. He's a dog handler," Alice replied, opening the bag and pulling a cookie out. "He's very nice and a happy-go-lucky person."

"So, he's friends with Paul?" Alice nodded, biting into her treat. "Mhm. But Soda just got there, so he won't be home for a bit."

"He sent a picture," Jean added.

"That's right, it's on my mirror, with all the rest of my pictures. Mom says he's very handsome," Alice said with a grin. "Which he is, but it's weird for her to think that. In my opinion, anyway."

Roger laughed again. "Well, as long as she doesn't fall for him instead, I think it's fine. Everyone has their right to an opinion."

"That's right. I can think he's handsome all I want," Jean agreed with a smile. Alice snorted, leaving the bag of cookies on the kitchen table.

"Well, I guess that's your choice, now isn't it? Fawning over eighteen year olds," Alice said with a shake of her head as she clicked her tongue and walked upstairs. "Giving up on Roger so soon?"

Roger laughed, but Jean stayed silent, looking over her shoulder where Alice had disappeared. She wasn't sure why Alice had refused to show her the letter, but she figured it must not have been that important. The thing that really bothered her was the sudden change of heart. Either Alice was lying or she really didn't mind Roger anymore. She worried about her daughter's intentions sometimes...

x/xx/xx/xx

Dally read over the letter a few more times, a smirk on his face. "If I ever see Steve again, I'll never let him live that down."

Alice rolled her eyes, sitting on the floor in front of Dallas as she shuffled a deck of cards. "I'm sure. But is that all you're interested in?"

"What? He ain't my brother..." Dally said with a shrug, handing the letter back to Alice. She glared at him as she took it back and he just smirked, like he usually did.

"Ya know, Dallas, you can be incredibly insensitive sometimes," Alice said casually as she dealt the cards.

"Hell, I'm teachin' ya to play Poker aren't I? Maybe you won't lose every damn time and make some money."

"Well, you could be cheating," Alice muttered bitterly, glaring at her cards. Dally laughed. Alice's glare only intensified. He only laughed at her or someone totally fucking up, which usually meant her either way. It didn't even seem like a real, happy laugh. He still sounded as bitter as he did when he talked.

"I don't cheat at everythin', ki— Alice, just most things. I'm pretty decent when it comes to rodeo and stuff."

"Yeah, but this ain't a rodeo," Alice replied as the game continued on. She was determined to win this time.

Dally laughed again. "You sound like someone back home, accent an' all. You're a Chicago girl, not a Tulsa babe."

"Huh, well, it must be your fault..." Alice replied easily, throwing another dollar into the middle of the game. There was at least five dollars in change there, but only three dollar bills. "You're a bad influence."

"You're only a year younger than me."

"Like it matters... When was your birthday, anyway?"

"It's in November."

"Then you're only a few months older than me, not a whole—Wait, November? Does that mean it's soon?"

"I win," Dally said, scooping up the money and putting it into his coat pockets. He wasn't gloating about it like he had before.

"God damn it," Alice said angrily, throwing her hand of cards up in the air. She sighed and stared at his pockets, probably missing her money, since most of it was hers. "Seriously, though, when's your birthday?"

"...November ninth."

"What?" Alice screeched, looking at him in shock. "But that was weeks ago! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Look, it's not something I need to worry about anymore," Dally snapped. Alice clenched her jaw, watching as Dally stood up stood up and dropped down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Sorry... I forgot."

Dally laughed bitterly again, but didn't say anything. Alice stared at her mirror and her pictures for a moment before looking at the clock on her desk. 10:30. It was November 21st, nearly a week after his birthday, though this week was almost over.

"Well, guess what, you're getting a good birthday," Alice said with finality as she reached for the phone on the floor beside her bed. "Don't worry, I'm not calling Julie or Leann... though I should,"

Alice reassured him while Dally stared at her in a mix of horror and anger. Now it was mostly anger. "Alice, I don't—"

"Guess what? I don't care. You're not in some shit home in Tulsa, though I'm sure that your friends probably celebrated your birthday at their house or something; you're in Chicago, in a home one step above shit, and you're getting a good birthday."

Dally didn't take the comment about his home in Tulsa as an insult. He agreed. But he really didn't want to celebrate his birthday. Not only did it seem unimportant to him before, but it was also unnecessary now. He was dead.

"Hi, is Andrew there? Oh, well...that's weird, you never answer the phone...er, anyway, you still having that party? Yeah, I'm coming. I'm bringing a friend, though, he needs to get out tonight."

xxxx

After much prodding and poking, Dally finally gave in at the promise of a party just like the ones back in Tulsa. Sure, Alice had no idea what those parties were like, but judging by who Dally was, she assumed they weren't calm, safe parties.

It had only taken a few minutes to convince her mother to give her the car keys and to let her go to the party. Alice just used the classic, "You did say I need to get out more," card.

"You know I don't like your thick-headed pretty boy boyfriend," Dally said as they turned onto a street lined with cars.

"You know I don't like it when you call him that either. We've never even asked each other out," Alice replied with a glare as she parked the car. "Just, ignore him or something, and try not to get into any fights."

"Hey—"

"Don't 'hey' me. You're the reason we got kicked out of the bar when we went with Julie."

Dally smirked. "Oh yeah...man, that was pretty cool, if I remember it right."

"Yes, yes, the very definition of the word. Come on, we're here to celebrate something and get drunk, so cheer up a bit," Alice said as she stepped out of the car, shut the door, and walked up to the house. It wasn't near the middle of the city, like Alice's was. It was in the suburbs outside of it, in a much nicer looking neighborhood. It had only been a five-minute drive, too.

Dally glared at the house, remembering every Soc he had ever had the pleasure of encountering. He had to keep reminding himself that things weren't the same in Chicago as he stepped out of the car and caught up to Alice.

"I'm only staying to make sure you don't kill yourself when you drive home after this," Dally said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it as the two stood on the small stone porch, waiting for the door to open.

"Hey, Alice is here! Someone get her a beer, huh?" A boy said happily as he grabbed her arm and dragged her inside. "One for her friend, too," he added, grabbing Dally and yanking him inside.

Alice blinked in confusion as she had a beer shoved into her hands, before she was swallowed into the crowd of people in the house. Dallas was given a beer and led to the kitchen, where there seemed to be different contests going on.

Dally glared as he opened his beer and drank it. That kid had made him drop his cigarette outside.

The competitions were just another thing that could get him into a fight, so he tried his best to ignore them.

"Hey, the albino kid, wanna try me at arm wrestling?"

Dally glared at the boy leaning on an island in the center of the kitchen after he figured out he was speaking to him. "Only if you want your arm jerked out of its socket."

The boy laughed. "You gonna back that up? Pretty strong talk for someone like you."

"Well, you don't look too dumb, either, but you sure proved that wrong."

The boy's grin faded. "Oh yeah? Well, come on, then, show me what you got, hick."

Dally slammed his beer can down on a table and stormed over to the boy, grabbing his hand, the adrenaline running through him. "Ready?"

"To win? Always."

Dally snorted and another boy counted it off. The boy looked surprised when Dallas's hand didn't jerk down to the counter, but stayed firmly in place. They struggled for a moment, but Dally could last pretty long in any competition, so it wasn't long before he slammed his opponent's hand onto the counter, harder than was needed.

The boy swore, sweat making the brown hair around his forehead damp, as he nursed his hand and shoulder. Dally didn't pick up his beer, much to the disappointment of the friends of the boy that had lost.

"Maybe you should learn to get ready to lose sometime, huh? Won't be such a shock next time you lose to a hick like me," Dally said coolly, as he pulled out another cigarette and left the kitchen. He tried to remember every face in there so it'd be easy to avoid anyone that would pick a fight with him.

xxxx

"I don't get it, Alice. Why do you insist on wearing that ribbon? I thought you hated the color yellow."

"I do."

"Then why bother?"

"Oh, hey, Dally... You okay? You look upset," Alice said as Dally neared her and a small group of people. Dally just shook his head and smoked his cigarette, enjoying his chance.

"Don't change the subject," a girl with blonde hair chastised. Dally didn't recognize her, so she wasn't part of Alice's little circle of good friends.

"I wear it for my brother and a friend," Alice said seriously. "It's to show support, Donna."

"Oh..." Donna said quietly, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hey, you're the boy that helped us, right?" Dally looked away from Donna to Linda, who was sitting in a chair he was standing next to.

"Yeah."

Donna looked up at him in surprise. "Wow, you don't look like the type to help someone."

"I like to surprise people," Dally replied easily. He knew he looked dangerous and he usually took pride in that, but sometimes it just got on his nerves, especially since Alice continually told him that Chicago was different from Tulsa.

Donna stared at him for a moment longer until Linda spoke up again. "You were already at home when I found Alice again, so, well, thanks. Thanks a lot."

Dally just shrugged his shoulders.

"So, how do you know Alice?"

Dally nearly swallowed his cigarette and Alice looked paler than usual. She had known Linda for a very long time and if they used the family friend deal on her, she probably wouldn't believe it.

"Oh, come on, I know you know her. You said her name and we didn't even introduce ourselves; oh, by the way, I'm Linda. Anyway, come on, spill it. How do you know each other?"

Donna gasped. "Oh! Are you, like, long lost friends that have finally proclaimed their love for each other?"

"Uh..."

"No."

"...Long lost friends?"

"Donna, this isn't one of your romance novels, you know..." Alice said with a smile as she patted the girl's knee.

Donna sighed, a dreamy look on her face. "Oh, but wouldn't that be great if that was true? Dally and Alice..." Donna made a face. "Well, I can't say the names fit—"

"It's gotta be short for somethin', right?"

A large chatter erupted, with Alice and Dally caught in the middle. Neither was about to admit their names actually rhymed, but they couldn't come up with anything else that Dally could be short for. They couldn't even think of an excuse as to how they knew each other. Alice's face was a bit red and Dally could feel annoyance growing. He didn't like being the center of attention in this situation. It was a bit awkward to be stuck in a crowd of people accusing you of being in a wild romance when there was definitely a big difference between the two. Dallas was dead. Alice was not.

At the moment, Alice was desperately trying to think of some excuse out of this... Wait, duh.

"Guys, shut up! He's my cousin. I can't be in a wild romance with my cousin," Alice said firmly.

Dally raised an eyebrow at her and so did Linda.

"Cousin? He looks nothing like you..." Linda said as she studied Dally's face.

"He's from Oklahoma, Linda, on my mom's side. Besides, he doesn't have the same parents as me. Didn't your Dad have the blonde hair Dally?"

"Yeah, he did."

"So, why haven't I heard of you before?"

"Didn't have the time or money to vist..." Dally said simply. "Not like I was in a hurry anyway; Chicago ain't all that great."

A few indignant cries rose up from the crowd and Dally just smirked, smoking his cigarette. Donna was grinning ear to ear.

"Well, if you aren't going out with Alice—"

"Donna!"

"What? I'm not talking about me! I'm going out with John!" Donna leaned forward, looking around. "I meant Connie."

"...Alright, you crack head, where'd you get the money for the drugs?" Linda asked in a serious tone. "I mean, look at him! Connie would probably be terrified of Dally!"

"I've already met her."

Linda's brow furrowed, but Donna practically screamed. "What'd you think of her?"

"She's a nice girl," Dally said with a shrug. "Not my type."

xxxx

When Alice and Dally returned home, there was a small cupcake sitting on the kitchen table and a card.

_Dear Friend Of Alice, _

_I hope you like the cupcake on your very be-lated birthday. Don't worry, Alice didn't make it, I did. Best wishes,_

_Alice's Mother_

Alice laughed, looking at the candle that was practically a stub. "This is one of the candle's she used for my birthday."

Dally picked up the cupcake and plucked the candle out of the chocolate frosting. Alice picked up the candle and licked the frosting off the bottom.

"Something wrong? You haven't eaten it yet," Alice said as she threw the candle away. "I'll eat it if you like."

"It's my birthday, my cake," Dally replied in a flat tone. "Just rememberin' somethin'."

"...What, did you have a bad experience with cupcakes before you died?"

"No, you ignorant bitch, I didn't have a bad experience with cupcakes," Dally snapped before disappearing. Alice stood there, a bit lost.

_'God, he's more like a tempermental friend than a guardian angel...' _Alice thought bitterly as she walked upstairs to her bedroom. She wasn't expecting Dally to be back anytime soon. "It's just a cupcake anyway..."

* * *

_Er, that's it. Oh! This chapter is dedicated to Maruader and the Q and Artemis Rex, for being so damn amazing. _


	13. In Which The Authoress Is Cruel

_You'll understand the title of the chapter once you finish reading it! Bwahaa. Yeah, I was facing writer's block and I just started typing and I got this chapter. Alright, now, hopefully, the more competent readers have already noticed, but for those who haven't I'll point it out. _

_Alice is becoming less guarded and seems more comfortable with everything now, which you can see by the way she's been joking around. It could be because of Dally (Who really has just been nudging her forward) or it could be because Paul is coming home. We may never know. _

_This chapter is for all of my lovely reviewers: Marauder and the Q, Artemis Rex, blame it on the government, soda'slover, iheartponyboy333, WhoaaaReally34 andIAmOnlyMe. For you will be the ones that suffer the most from my cruelty. (Insert Evil Cackling Here)_

* * *

Chapter 12: In Which The Authoress Is Cruel

Dally walked down the sidewalk eating the cupcake, albeit slowly. He knew Julie would probably get on to him for snapping at Alice like that (She always seemed to know what went on), but he couldn't control his temper. It wasn't really something he had learned to do.

The cupcake was good, he would admit that, but it reminded him of the Curtis's and the fact that he would probably never see any of the people he once knew because he was dead; of things he had tried to forget. Dallas thought it a bit ridiculous that something as stupid as a chocolate cupcake would have such a bad effect on him...so he ate it; sort of like revenge.

"Happy Fuckin' Birthday."

xxxx

Alice recieved many a phone call over the next few days before Thanksgiving, most of them were concerning Winter Break and where she was going, but Donna would call a few times and ask about Dally. Alice would ask about John in return.

Alice had Monday and Tuesday off for Thanksgiving, which her mother insisted Dally come to when she figured he had no where else to go. Jean was very good getting things out of people and she didn't ask why he didn't have anywhere to go. She simply insisted that Alice invite him over; which Alice did. Dallas had laughed at first, but when he found out his charge was serious, he asked what drugs she was on.

Dally insisted that Alice's mother would hate him. Alice didn't agree. So, after a few hours of reverse psychology and a few guilt trips, Dally agreed.

All day Dallas chain smoked only to find the cigarettes weren't helping; he grew a bit snappy and beat on a tree in a park before walking back to Alice's house. Jean was actually very kind to him and didn't comment on his now scarred hands. Alice answered most of the questions Jean asked under the pretense that Dally was nervous around adults.

Really, Alice just didn't want Dally to snap something at her mother, or Roger, who had been invited as well. Alice was courteous, maybe overly so, to Roger, but she didn't show any signs of actually liking him. After dinner, Alice and Dally spent most of their time on the front steps outside.

When Dally left (he went to go talk to Leann for awhile to waste time) Jean told Alice that he was a little rough around the edges, but since she believed that could be worked out, she generally approved. Alice screeched that she wasn't even thinking about dating Dally in return and flew upstairs to her room.

"So much for a peaceful Thanksgiving," Jean muttered, looking up the stairs.

xxxx

_Ten. _

Linda stared at the clock on the wall, leaning forward in her desk, her books in a stack in front of her. _'Come on...hurry up.'_

_Nine. _

Andrew stood with his Spanish class underneath the clock, counting down with their teacher in his native language. Spanish.

_Eight. _

Connie stared at the clock, her eyes wide and practically biting her nails all the way off. '_So close. So damn close.' _

_Seven. _

Donna looked up at the clock, disrupting any plans in her head for the moment. Maybe she could work her magic as match maker easier once break started.

_Six._

Alice bit her lip, her right leg shaking as she held the edge of her desk. Paul had sent a letter telling her and her mother that he would be returning home sometime around New Years. The sooner break came, the sooner Paul came home.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" The chanting could be heard in the hallway and the moment the bell rang, it was drowned out by the cheers of the students of Cook High School. Alice hurried out of the class room with the rest of her English class, her sights set on her locker.

"Hey, Ally-bear!" Andrew said loudly, engulfing Alice in a hug.

"Alice, oh my gosh, finally, right? Where are you going-"

"Alright, I've been thinking about it. Maybe your names do match."

"Alice, I think Dally's here."

"What?" Alice screeched in Linda's face, causing her friend to flinch and jerk away.

"Over there," Linda said, pointing to a bright blonde head in the crowd. Donna squealed and raised Connie's hand, waving it above her head.

"Dally! Over here!"

Dally looked over, noticing Connie having an apparent muscle spasm in her arm. He smirked and pushed through the traffic in the hallway to get to the group of friends standing near a wall.

"You okay Connie? It looked like your arm was 'bout to fall off," Dally said, looking down at the shorter girl. Connie glared at Donna.

"It's fine."

"What are you doing here?" Alice hissed, poking Dally in the chest. "You can't sneak into the school!"

"Hey, I didn't get caught. Your mom asked me to get you from school. Turns out she wants me to drop you off at the train station..." Dally explained, looking over his shoulder at the students walking by. The last thing he wanted was to see the boys from the party again.

"Hey, you're the guy that beat Carl, right?"

Dally snorted. "Carl? That's a tuff name," he said sarcastically. "Yeah, I beat him."

"Man, he wants to kill you, embarrassing him in front of all those people like that. Everyone keeps teasing him about it. I'm Andrew, by the way," he said, holding out his hand.

Dally shook it, a smirk on his face. "Yeah, I know, Alice told me about you."

"She did?" Andrew looked at Alice, curious. Alice just waved it off.

"I gotta get to my locker. Connie? You coming?"

"Mhm, I already got rid of my books. Promised Betty I would help her with her homework and book report," Connie said with a grin, her winter coat in her arms.

"Pretty good...dorky, but good," Dally said, putting a hand on Connie's shoulder and steering her down the hallway, Alice jogging to catch up to them after bidding the others goodbye. Dally looked back at Donna; she looked like she was about to explode from joy.

"I think Donna's tryin' to hook us up," Dally pointed out, releasing Connie's shoulder. Connie sighed.

"I know. She kept bringing you up ever since the party..." she said sadly. "I mean, I like you and all but-"

"Hey, love birds, you're walking past my locker," Alice called after them, standing in front of an open locker. Dally just waved and slung an arm around Connie's shoulder and increased his pace. She could hear Connie protesting as they walked out the door with the other students, before she started laughing. .

"If he drives away, I'm going to kill him," Alice muttered, grabbing her coat and slamming her locker shut.

xxxx

Alice and Connie would usually go on vacations with each other, since Connie's parents usually didn't let her visit Alice during the school year. Alice had gone on vacation with Connie's family last year, so Connie was going with Alice and her mother to go to New York City.

Alice's Aunt lived in New York, so they would be staying in her apartment instead of a hotel.

Dally nearly had a fit (Alice and Connie couldn't tell what kind of fit it was) when he found out where they were going.

"Why are you spazzing? Alice goes to New York almost every other year," Connie pointed out, leaning forward from her place in the back seat. Dally glared at the cars in front of him.

"That's fuckin' great. Do you have any idea how fuckin' dangerous it is there?" Dally snapped. Alice and Connie exchanged glances.

"We don't go wandering the streets alone you know."

"And we don't go gliding down alley ways either."

"We just go visit all the normal vacation spots."

"So stop freaking out. You'll be there anyway."

"Stop sign!"

The car jerked to a stop, before starting it's long trek to the train station once again. Dally remained quiet for the rest of the trip while Alice and Connie sang a long with different songs on the radio.

Dally could remember Two-bit and Soda would always sing along to songs on the radio. Usually they were off key; Two-bit was usually drunk and Soda sang for fun, so he didn't really care if he was singing in the same key as the song.

They weren't that bad, if they actually tried to stay in key...Connie and Alice were kind of the same, except that Connie was in the school Chorus and apparently, was in it for a reason.

"Dally..."

"What?" Dally snapped, glaring at Alice.

"You passed the train station."

"God damn it!"

xxxx

"Hey, Dally? Did you ever eat that cupcake?"

"What?"

"You know, the cupcake that made you think?"

"Wait, what cupcake?" Connie interrupted.

"His birthday cupcake."

"It was your birthday? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's not important. In case you forgot, I don't need to celebrate my birthday."

"Is that what the cupcake made you think about?" Alice asked, sitting down on a bench in the train station.

"Sure, why not," Dally muttered, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it.

"...Are you sure you didn't have a bad experience-"

"Alice, shut up!"

xxxx

Jean arrived at the train station about ten minutes after Dally and the girls had. Dally left after Jean thanked him.

Dally dropped the car back off at Leann's, where Julie was waiting rather impatiently for her car. Afterwards, Dally went back up "there" to wait until Alice needed him. Usually, he wouldn't spend much time up "there". He didn't like watching the people wandering around and quite frankly, it bored him. But there was really no where else he could go since he couldn't get into trouble like he used to.

So Dally just watched. Watched the different people slowly fading in from where ever they were, or people fading out. A few people were waiting around the book and others were suddenly laying on the ground. Dally figured that must have been what happened to him.

Sometimes someone would ask him a question: "Are you an Angel?" or "Where do I go now?". Dally would answer as calmly as he could. He really didn't like answering questions.

"Dallas Winston?"

* * *

_Oh no she di'nt! _

_You bet I did. Cliffy! Hahaa!_


	14. Do It For Who?

_Alrightay. Here's the big shocker of the century for all of those who I tortured for...oh, about three days? Actually, my sister guessed who it was right away...and she doesn't actually read the story, I just give her basic summaries of each chapter. Shame shame. _

_The chapter title? It's actually kind of funny...Just take the title and look for the first name mentioned **in dialouge. **So, "Do it for who?" "(insert name here)". I can be clever when I try. If you didn't figure out who it is from the chapter title well...er, I guess you don't think like I do. Then again, you're the reader of the story, not the writer. _

_Sorry about the wait. It took me awhile to get it to where I liked it. _

* * *

Chapter 13: Do It For Who?

Dally rolled his eyes and looked over to his right, where the voice had come from. "Whaddya want n–"

He froze, his angry statement stuck in his throat. Standing a few feet away from him was a small looking boy. He looked to be fourteen, but Dally knew better than to judge someone by their looks, especially him.

"Johnny? Johnnycake? That you man?"

"Yeah, man it's me. What are you doing here?" Johnny asked, hardly making an effort to contain his excitement and surprise as he closed in the gap between them and sat down.

"I can't believe it man...I thought you might have already finished here, I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"Well, hell Dal, I didn't think I'd see you either," Johnny admitted. "I've gotta get a new assignment, that's why I'm here. My charge...he...he had to go," Johnny said with a small shrug. "But when'd you get here?"

Dally didn't answer right away. He was still in a state of mild shock. Johnny looked healthy; not burned at all. Dallas gently touched the side of Johnny's face where a long scar used to be, before quickly drawing back as if he had been burned.

"Yeah, every scar I ever had is gone. Crazy, right? Surprised the hell outta me when I saw myself in a mirror one day. I think I stood there for minutes just touching the side of my face, where it used to be...but you still haven't answered me Dallas," Johnny said firmly. His voice was still quiet, but the nervous tone that usually hid there was gone.

"I dunno man, after you died..." Dally cut himself off, the painful lump in his throat coming back. He didn't think he'd feel that again...

Johnny was watching him, a grave look on his face. "What'd you do, man?"

"I bolted...robbed a store...I can't remember after that..." Dally muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"So, you didn't get the letter I wrote huh? Man, I sounded pretty smart in that letter too," Johnny said with a sad grin. Dally just shook his head.

"No, I didn't get any letter...I died the same night you did."

"...You didn't-"

"I dunno! I can't remember what the hell happened, Johnny..." Dally snapped, his tone softening before the sentence finished.

"...So...you working?"

"Depends on what ya mean by working," Dally said with a small smile.

"C'mon, I know you're a guardian angel now," Johnny said, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, real funny, Johnnycake. Yeah, I'm workin' in Chicago. She's goin' to New York for winter break though. The last place I really wanna go to."

"She? You got a girl? Man, I got some old guy in Washington. I've still got the worst luck even after I die," Johnny said bitterly.

"Yeah? I thought you were afraid of girls."

"Oh, shut up Dal. So, how old is she?"

"She'll be seventeen in August."

"Yeah? Oh hey, Happy Birthday."

"Please don't mention that," Dally said, rubbing his forehead again. Johnny just nodded and waited for Dally to mention something else. Johnny still wasn't talkative and didn't mind silence, but he didn't want to get on Dally's nerves with a sudden motor mouth.

"Ya hear anythin' about the Curtis's? Two-bit, Steve?"

Johnny shook his head, a bit surprised by the sudden question. "Nah man. I haven't even thought of seein' them, actually," he admitted, sounding a bit guilty.

"Soda's in 'Nam...everyone else is fine though."

"'Nam?" Johnny choked out. "He didn't sign up did he? How could he leave Pony and all them behind like that?"

"Nah, he got drafted. He'd never leave them behind, you know that."

"Hey, Dal, maybe I could just tag-a-long with you for awhile. Ya know, instead of getting a new job right away?"

"I dunno Johnny...I know three other guardians that would probably chew us out for it."

"C'mon man, when have you ever cared about that? 'Sides, not like I'd be causin' any trouble right?"

"Yeah, you're right man...c'mon."

xxxx

Johnny and Dally were sitting near the back of the train on the floor, watching the scenary go by. Alice and Connie were near the back of the train too and Alice's mother was near the middle.

"So, Paul's coming home when you get back?"

"Around that time, yeah. Soda let me know that he was coming. Apparently the excitement makes Paul stupid, so he took awhile to give the exact guess."

"Exact guess?" Connie laughed. "That's an oxymoron. It has to be. So, where's Dally, huh? Is he bailing out on us?"

Alice smirked, studying her friend. "Why so curious?"

"It's not like that! I just wanna know..." Connie said defensively.

"Hey, don't worry. He's a very interesting person I can see why you'd be attracted to him."

"Alice!" Connie hissed, hitting her friend's arm. "Stop that, you're as bad as Donna! I am not attracted to-"

Alice raised an eyebrow, watching her friend's face turn red. "Well...okay, if you say so."

"Hi Dallas," Connie said quietly. Alice hunched over in a fit of laughter as Dallas and Johnny sat across from them. "Who's this?" Connie asked over Alice's giggles, looking at Johnny. He looked away, hunching his shoulders.

"Heh, I guess you really are afraid of girls, Johnnycakes," Dally joked, laughing as Johnny punched him in the arm. Alice sat up with a sigh, giggling from time to time.

"Nice to meet you Johnnycakes," Alice said, before falling into another laughing fit. Connie smiled.

"Well, at least you're acting normal today. It's nice to meet you Johnny, I'm Connie and giggles over here is Alice. So, you're like Dallas, right?"

Johnny nodded. Dally smirked and messed Johnny's hair a bit. "Yeah, Johnny and me were in a gang together. Had a few exciting rumbles, didn't we man?"

Johnny just nodded again, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Connie looked surprised. "Really? Not like the gangs we have here, right?"

"Nah, not our gang. We weren't organized than and we ain't organized now," Dally said with a shrug, kicking his feet up on the seat next to Alice. Alice hit his foot, but when he didn't move, ignored it.

"I hate the trip to New York. It's so dull," Alice said a few minutes later after she had settled down.

"We could play a game," Connie suggested. Dallas snorted, biting back a laugh.

"Yeah, because there are so many games we could play on a train," Alice said sarcastically.

"Yeah, like Harrass the Other Passengers, or, Run Screaming Up and Down the Train," Dally said. Connie sighed, looking at the floor in embarassment.

"Well, at least she's offering some ideas," Johnny pointed out. Dally rolled his eyes and Alice just crossed her arms and sunk a little lower into her seat.

"Hey, Dally, I was wondering, how do you do your job anyway?" Connie asked suddenly. Dally stared at her for a moment, before noticing all eyes were on him. He glared at each of them in turn.

"They didn't really tell me, so I've pretty much been guessin' about it the whole time," Dallas admitted. Alice stared at him shock, her mouth hanging open.

"Excuse me? You've been guessing? No wonder you've hardly been helpful!"

"Hey, it's not like there was some fuckin' introduction. They just shoved me at you and didn't bother explaining! It ain't my fault, so don't you be hacked off with me. Blame the people up 'there'!" Dally argued. Johnny nudged him with his elbow and gave a barely noticable nod in the direction across from them.

The passengers around them were staring at them, some glaring. Connie hid her face in her hands and slumped down into her seat and was accompanied by Alice. Johnny once again hunched over and avoided eye contact and Dally silently dared everyone to continue staring. And oh, did they dare.

xxxx

Alice's Aunt Hannah was her mother's younger sister and lived in a rather nice apartment in New York City. So, Alice and Connie had proved Dally's worry somewhat pointless. Johnny seemed to be enjoying himself however. He had never really been away from Tulsa and the neighborhood he had stayed at in Washington hadn't been much better; the huge city was certainly something he hadn't seen before.

"Alice! Connie! How're my two favorite vacationers?" A woman who was a bit larger than her sister said happily. Her hair was curly and the same color as Alice's and Jean's, but her eyes were a lighter brown. Alice and Connie both replied with a 'Fine' and carried their bags to a spare room.

"What about me? You would think you'd be happy to see your sister," Jean said with a laugh.

"I still haven't forgiven you for making my childhood traumatic. I constantly check my hair for spiders because of you," Hannah said bitterly. Jean hunched her shoulders and offered a sheepish smile.

"Sorry."

xxxx

"Man, those buildings are huge," Johnny whispered, staring out the window of the guest room that Connie and Alice would be staying in. Dally didn't seem impressed with any of this and was poking around the room.

"I'm so fuckin' bored," Dally muttered, watching as Alice and Connie unpacked. Neither of them could see them, but they knew the boys were there, so they were cautious about what they were taking out of their bags and putting into the closet.

"Well, no one ever said that this job was gonna be fun-"

"That's right," A voice interrupted. Dally groaned; Connie's guardian again. "But nothing seems to get through this boy's head."

"Hey, I saved Alice's life once already. What have you done lately, Bobby?" Dally asked bitterly, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall behind him. Bobby's face flushed in anger.

"I've been doing my job; giving advice from the sidelines, not throwing myself into Connie's life."

"Huh...well, I guess we both have different styles, now don't we?" Dally said with a smirk, wondering if Bobby would catch the subtle reference to his clothes. Apparently, he did, because he glared and refused to be in the same room for much longer and faded away.

"I don't think you should get on the others' nerves, Dal. It'll count against ya when it counts."

"That dude? He don't matter, just another geek patrollin' the hallways, like at school," Dally said with a shrug. Some of the geeks at school, before he had dropped out, would decide to be brave with a few friends and rat on the Greasers sometimes. Usually, the Greasers would beat the tar out of them so they didn't do it again. But if they weren't telling, they were reminding someone of the rules or what they shouldn't do. Dally had been more than happy after he dropped out knowing he'd never have to deal with them again.

And then Bobby showed up...

Dally swore and dug in his pocket for a cigarette. "Damn finks..." Dally muttered, lighting the cigarette and fading away. Johnny glanced over at Alice and Connie, who were currently sleeping on the floor surrounded by clothes, and followed his friend. He figured he could check up on them if Dally was still in a foul mood.

* * *

_Ta-da! I luff Mr. Cakes, so I couldn't resist putting him in the story. I was going to have him show up in the epilouge, but, I figured since the story is almost over, I'll throw him in now. So, the epilouge will er...not have an introduction for Mr. Cakes I guess. Yeah. HAha, Dorky Guardian Angel. Don't worry Bobby, I luff you. _


	15. Shopping on Dangerous Streets

_Raaawr. I had plenty of time to write with the internet down, so expect pretty quick updates. I also managede to work things out and a sequel is no longer needed...in my opinion. So, sorry for all you Running Addicts out there, but...yeah, I kicked the sequel away. _

_A long chapter, to make up for the wait. You little Addicts better be happy. _

* * *

Chapter 14: Shopping on Dangerous Streets

"Alice. C'mon, get up."

"Hmm...not now," Alice grumbled, rolling over until her head hit Connie's back. Johnny bit his lip, not sure what to do. He didn't really want to touch her...the girls back home probably would have thrown a fit if he had. But maybe Alice wouldn't care...

"Alice! C'mon, 'member what your mom said? Ya have to get these clothes put away 'fore dinner," Johnny said, shaking Alice's shoulder. She pushed his hand away and curled up. "Connie...Alice's mom is gonna throw a fit when she sees you girls like this, sleeping on the floor with your clothes."

Connie sighed and stretched, nearly missing Johnny's head, before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Hmm...how long were we sleepin'?" she asked, looking up at Johnny as she ran a hand through her hair. She yawned as Johnny shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno...couple hours maybe..." Johnny guessed, before standing up and walking over to the window.

"Where's that clock?" Connie muttered, standing up and walking over to the nightstand next to the bed. She sighed and shook her head, muttering more things as she dug through the drawer. "Broken..." Connie said as she tossed the small clock onto the bed. She grabbed a flip flop from underneath the bed, one that she assumed must have been Aunt Hannah's.

"Alice, get up!" Connie said, whipping the shoe at her friend. Alice yelped and swore, rubbing her leg as she sat up.

"What?" Alice snapped, glaring at Connie. Connie smiled and rubbed her eyes again, before sitting on the bed.

"Well, one: the clock is broken," Connie said, picking up the clock and waving it, before dropping it back on the bed. "Two: Your mom is gonna throw a fit when she sees this room. We were supposed to have the clothes put away before dinner, remember?"

"...Make Dally clean it," Alice said, laying back down.

"You really trust him with our clothes? Besides, he's not here."

Alice whined before sitting back up and grabbing a shirt. "Fine, I'll clean it up. You just keep my mom busy for awhile, huh? Make sure she and Aunt Hannah forget about dinner for a bit. Johnny, can you help me?" Alice asked, turning to him. "Why are you so red? It's only clothes. I trust you more than Dally. 'Sides, I'm not gonna let you touch anything like that."

Johnny silently walked over and sat down across from Alice in the middle of all the clothes, before picking up a shirt and folding it.

"Don't fold one's like these," Alice said, holding up a shirt that buttoned up the front and looked sort of thin. "It'll get all wrinkled and my mom'll have a cow about it. We'll just hang those up."

Johnny nodded, all the while wondering what the rest of the gang would say if they knew he was helping a girl put away clothes.

xxxx

A few minutes later and Alice was walking out of the guest room into the living room, looking a bit worn out. Connie looked up, relieved. It sounded like they had been talking about something like politics when Alice had walked in.

"Good morning sunshine, have a nice nap?" Aunt Hannah asked with a smile. "Your mom went Christmas shopping, so she'll be back later."

Alice groaned and swiflty beat her head into a wall.

"Cleaned up that room for no reason, right?" Aunt Hannah guessed with a laugh. "Don't worry, you'll feel better with it done now instead of rushing to get it done before your mom gets home. It's only around lunchtime anyway."

Alice stared at her aunt in horror, before groaning and dropping to her knees on the floor. "Why didn't you tell Connie to let me know?"

"I thought it'd be funny. You can go do some shopping of your own, you know. Your mom left you money on the kitchen table. I'll give you money for a bus if you need one."

"I think it'd be safer to just go to the stores nearby, don't you?" Connie asked. Aunt Hannah shrugged.

"I don't care what you do, just get me something good for Christmas."

xxxx

Connie stopped in front of another store window, peering inside for anything that seemed to be a good present. Alice waited patiently, watching people walk by. Alice didn't care what store they went into, but Connie liked to make sure that the store they went to would have the perfect gift inside.

"Who's gift are you looking for anyway?" Alice questioned, looking over at her friend who had given her signature sigh of defeat. "It's not mine, is it?"

"Well, no...I actually thought it'd be nice if we got something for our new friends," Connie said. "Besides, I need a gift for your aunt too."

"...You mean you want to get a present for Dallas aka the lover you long for?"

"Alice! For the last time, I am not attracted to Dallas! Honestly, he scares me, but I figure he deserves a gift as much as anyone else...Johnny too..." Connie said, a bit sadly. "I don't think either of them have ever had a real good Christmas."

Alice looked back at the people walking by, apparently lost in thought. Finally, she spoke up. "I can't think of a single thing to get either of them...I mean, we just met Johnny, I don't know what kinds of things he likes. I don't know what Dallas would like either."

"Well...why don't you draw them something?"

"Oh please, the only drawing Dally would like is one of a naked girl," Alice said disdainfully as they began walking again. "I don't think we can get gifts for people we barely know, Connie, no matter how hard we try. What if they don't like them?"

"I still think they deserve something."

"I still think neither of them give two shits about Christmas...I also think I'm hungry. C'mon we can think over pizza or something."

xxxx

"If they were girls we could just buy them a necklace and get it over with," Connie said with a sigh, poking her slice of pizza with a french fry. Alice shrugged.

"I think Dally has a necklace already...I've seen the chain, but that's about it. He has a ring too. Like those class rings, ya know? But he probably just has it so when he punches someone, it hurts more."

"Oh, very clever Alice, but what about the necklace?"

"...Maybe it's his girlfriend's?"

Connie laughed. "I don't know of any girl that gave away a necklace without expecting something of her boyfriend's in return. The only thing he'd have was probably that ring, which he still has."

"Okay, so I was wrong. Maybe it's just a chain or something."

"Maybe it's a medal, like the one your brother and you had."

"...You honestly think Dally is religious? Hell, it could be mine, I don't wear mine anymore. He could have stolen it just because he was bored or something."

Connie nibbled on a french fry, staring up at the ceiling. "Maybe he collects something?"

It was Alice's turn to laugh now. "Probably prizes from the night's latest score. I know, why don't you try to have sex with him? I'm sure he'd love that!" Alice said, sarcasm hiding in her excited voice. Connie gave her a stern look.

"One: I'm not a whore, Alice. Two: I'm not attracted to Dally! Three: He's _dead_."

"Oh yeah...no bodily functions... Huh. Must have slipped my mind. Give him...money. Then he can buy his own gift."

"But that's so impersonal."

"Then ask him and Johnny questions about what they'd get for Christmas when we get back. We can at least buy a gift for my Aunt while we're out wandering the streets of New York."

"Alright...should we use the bus money to pay for this?"

"Well, we could...so yes, I say we should."

Connie dug through her purse, trying to count out the money without taking it all out. They had a fairly large amount of money in her purse and if anyone saw, someone might get the bright idea to steal it.

"Alice, Connie, I can't find Dally."

"Johnny? How the hell did you get here? Oh, want some pizza? I think we may have gotten too much," Alice said as she moved over so Johnny could sit down. He sat down and looked at the pizza, before looking back up at Alice.

"But what about-"

"Johnny, don't worry," Alice said reassuringly. "Dally runs off all the time, he'll be back. Besides, he can't really get hurt unless he's pretending to be alive again, which he can choose not to be. Why are you so worried?"

Johnny didn't answer, but grabbed a slice pizza instead.

"Johnny, what would Dally want for Christmas?" Connie asked, placing the bus money on the table. Johnny coughed for a moment, choking on his pizza.

"I dunno, he never asked for anything. I think Two-bit gave him a bunch of cigarettes once, but Dally got mad and punched him out. Said he could get his own cigarettes. I think it insulted him or somethin'," Johnny said quietly. Connie looked surprised but Alice just snorted and ate her french fries.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. I told you Connie, he wouldn't want anything for Christmas. I doubt he even knows it's coming up."

"But I feel bad...my parents said they were sending some of my presents up here, so I had more to open on Christmas, by the way. What about you Johnny, what do you want?"

Johnny shrugged, picking pieces off of the pizza and eating them. "Dunno...I've gotten little things...cigarettes, that sort of thing."

"Well, I can't buy you cigarettes. Someone would probably throw a fit about it at home," Connie said. Alice nodded in agreement.

"I don't need anything, honest. I'm used to it."

"But I always get everyone I know something for Christmas...so _I'm _not used to it," Connie whined. Alice grinned, balling up a napkin and tossing it at her friend's head.

"Don't have a breakdown there. It's not that big of a deal, if Johnny doesn't want anything, he doesn't want anything. Stop putting pressure on him, he's only...er...what? Sixteen?"

"Seventeen..." Johnny muttered, deserting his slice of pizza.

"Ah, well. Happy be-lated birthday. Why aren't you working, by the way?"

"I need a new assignment...but I'm hanging out with Dally for a bit first..." Johnny explained, once again, avoiding eye contact.

"You were good friends, weren't you?" Connie asked gently. "Do you...er, know how he died? Was it bad?"

Johnny shook his head. "I dunno...I died before he did...I didn't even know he had died, 'till I saw him up there...hey, do you think I could walk around with you guys?"

"Of course, Johnnycakes! C'mon, maybe you can find something you'd like to give to Dally. Maybe he'd be in a better mood and make life easier for me," Alice said as she stood up. Johnny smiled a bit, before standing up with Connie and following Alice back out to the city streets.

xxxx

"Stop looking so nervous Johnny. If you just stand up straight and look tough, no one's gonna come near us," Alice pointed out while Connie inspected yet another store window. Johnny bit back a sigh and did as Alice suggested, trying his best to look tough like the rest of the gang had.

"Oh! Alice, does your Aunt like candles?"

"I dunno. I didn't see any lying around...by her a picture of something...like a flower. She can hang it in her bedroom. Or the living room; it's so _bland_ in there."

"Wouldn't that seem insulting? Like I didn't think she did a good job decorating?"

Alice sighed. "Buy her some perfume or something then! I bought her a set of simple stud earrings, for Christ's sake! She's not that hard to shop for if you just calm down and _shop_."

"Does she like to read? What about you Johnny, do you like to read?"

"I'm not too good with readin'..." Johnny muttered, kicking a nearby paper cup before looking up at the buildings around them.

"What about music?"

"Aunt Hannah likes The Beatles..." Alice said as she rolled her eyes. "Honestly, what's so great about them? I mean, sure, they have a few good songs, but really! They aren't _that_ special."

"Oh, be quiet. It was the same way with Elvis," Connie pointed out as they walked on to the next store. "Besides, you only like Elvis because your brother and...and your dad did."

"Well...okay fine, that's true. But I'm sure Johnny would agree with me that Elvis is better than The Beatles...I mean, c'mon, they're named after a bug!"

"Well, of course Johnny would agree with you, you'd probably spit fire if he didn't!"

"Actually..." Johnny interrupted. "I do think Elvis is better...I always have."

"...But that doesn't mean The Beatles are _awful_."

Johnny shrugged. "I don't listen to 'em."

Alice grinned and slung an arm over Johnny's shoulders. "See? Two against one Connie; Elvis is better."

"Oh, please. If you actually asked people, you probably wouldn't get the same results and-" Connie suddenly stopped, causing Alice and Johnny to run into her. "Is that a fight?" Connie asked, pointing to a somewhat small crowd of boys in front of an apartment building.

Alice shook her head, removing her arm from Johnny's shoulders. "Dunno. Should we go see?"

"Alice, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Oh, come on Connie, live a little huh? C'mon Johnny," Alice said, grabbing Johnny's arm and jogging to the crowd of boys. Connie frowned and trudged along after them.

"What's going on?" Alice asked a boy when she got close enough. He looked over at her and Johnny, before glancing back to the middle of the circle.

"Some guy was bummin' around our territory. He won't say what gang he's from, so Pete's tryin' to beat it out of 'im. He's a pretty good fighter though. We've been here for a good amount of time."

"What if he's not in a gang at all?"

The boy just shrugged. "Hey, he wasn't too curteous about his answers, so it doesn't matter, he needs to be taught a lesson either way."

Alice frowned and looked over at Johnny who was straining to see over the tops of the boy's heads. They were pretty tall, and they couldn't see around them either.

"Johnny do you think you could lift me up? We're about the same size."

"I dunno Alice...I ain't Superman."

The boy Alice had been talkin' to snorted. "He probably couldn't pick up a rock, let alone you, chick."

Johnny stared at the boy for a minute, before kneeling down and wrapping his arms around Alice's legs. Alice squeaked and leaned against him as he lifted her up.

"Doin' good Johnny, just a little more...Connie, help Johnny so I don't fall backwards," Alice snapped. Connie sighed, having recently walked up, and placed a hand on Alice's lower back, putting the other one under Alice's feet. The extra boost gave Alice a clear shot of the fight. She glanced down at the boy, who was glowering at Johnny, before he turned back to the fight.

"Hurry up Alice, I can't feel my arms."

"Alright, just hold me steady," Alice said, watching the fight for a moment. A brown headed boy was being shoved into a wall by his blonde opponent, who punched him in the stomach as hard as he could. "It's Dally!" Alice hissed, looking back down at Johnny. He seemed to be struggling not to drop her, and Connie had to use both hands to keep her up now.

"Well? How's he doin'?" Johnny asked, his voice strained.

"I dunno, looks like he's winnin'..." Alice replied, looking back at the fight. "Hey! That ain't fair!" Alice shouted.

"What ain't fair?"

Alice looked back down at Johnny, who looked like he was ready to drop her and help his friend, before looking back up at the fight. "One of them is holding Dally back! That isn't fair!" Alice yelled at the boy, before Johnny set her back on her feet and pushed through the crowd.

"Johnny!" Connie yelped. "Alice, you remember when you used to put me on your shoulders so I could see better?"

"You were like, five-"

"I don't care! Kneel down."

Alice sighed and knelt down as her friend climbed onto her back and sat on her shoulders. True, Connie was a lot smaller than Alice, but Alice wasn't that strong, and Connie wasn't a light five year old anymore. Slowly, Alice stood back up, her legs shaking. Connie watched as Johnny jumped on the brown haired boy, who had been beating on Dally with no remorse what so ever.

It must have caught boy off guard, because he fell, knocking into Dally and the boy who had been holding him. Dally elbowed the boy underneath him in the stomach, but that was last she saw because Alice knelt down and forced her off.

"C'mon, we'll just stop the fight!" Alice said, picking up a rock about the size of seven year old's fist and shoving her way through the crowd. Connie knew that Alice had pretty good aim; she'd been the only one able to throw a decent pitch when they played baseball at school. But Connie was pretty sure that chucking rocks at people wasn't the right thing to do.

"Stop it!" Alice screeched. The fighters stopped, stunned into silence. For the moment, anyway.

"Alice? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hey, get outta the way chick!"

"You're gonna get hurt if you don't move," the boy from before pointed out, reaching for her arm. Alice turned to him, livid.

"You touch me and I beat this rock into the back of your head!"

"Alice, just get outta here, if the cops show up, you're gonna get busted just for bein' here," Dally said, walking up to her and grabbing her arm, taking the rock from her hand. His lip was cut and the side of his head was bleeding, but any bruises he might have weren't really visible yet.

"I can handle these punks without even tryin'."

"But they aren't even fighting fair!"

"No one said we had to fight fair," Pete said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and helping his friend up. Johnny was standing off to the side, wiping his own mouth.

"That's because most people assume you should!" Alice snapped. Dally grabbed her shoulders.

"Alice, just get out of here. Go back home. I don't need you gettin' in the way."

"Yeah, come on, go home!" The boys watching shouted.

"No. I'm not leaving without you or Johnny," Alice said firmly.

"Then wait 'till the fight is over," one of the boys said irritably, grabbing her arm and pushing her out of the way. The boy she had spoken to earlier caught her and both of them fell.

"You okay?" The boy asked quietly as he helped her sit up.

"Touch her again and I'll kill you!"

Connie screamed, the boy swore and Alice watched as all hell broke loose; the fight had more than four participants now and Alice was mentally beating herself up for it.

_'This is all my fault...'

* * *

I feel magical. Haha. _


	16. A Promise And Christmas Eve

_My sister clapped like a seal for this chapter. But then she ran out the door because she had to go to cheerleading...she's gonna smell when she gets back._

_Anywaaaay, the story is inching it's way to the end! Oh noes! It's probably gonna be sentimental and all that other stuff...it's hard to keep Dally in character now that the story is getting closer to the end, but he's supposed to have been going through changes as well. Poke me in the eye if you want, I don't care...I found out the other day that I can touch the whites of my eye with my finger! Haha! Creepy, no? _

_Two Chapters in one day. Cheer! _

* * *

Chapter 15: A Promise and Christmas Eve

Alice sat, watching numbly as the boys fought. Connie was just about having a fit when she heard sirens heading their way. The boy that had helped her sit up jumped to his feet.

"Hey, the fuzz are comin'! C'mon guys we better book it!"

A few of the boys detatched themselves from the fight immeadiately, running off in different directions. Others were grabbing their friends from the mess and dragging them away. Alice finally spotted Dally, panting and hunched over as the rest of the boys took off. He spit and helped Johnny up, before walking to Alice and yanking her off the ground.

"C'mon, don't shut down on me now Alice, we gotta get outta here. I'm fine and so is Johnny, just don't shut down on me," Dally demanded, dragging her a long. Connie and Johnny were walking slowly, watching them, before Dally snapped at them to run.

"Alice, I know you can hear me. C'mon, we gotta run or we're both gonna get in trouble for this. C'mon!" Dally said, jerking her arm as he ran down the street. This seemed to wake Alice up; She blinked and ran to keep up with him, so she wouldn't fall down from him dragging her along. He could run faster than Alice was.

"Dal! Over here," Johnny called from an alley way. Dally hung a right and ran into the alley, where Connie was already halfway down on the other side of a chain link fence. Johnny had already jumped onto the fence, jumping it with realitive ease. Alice wasn't used to hopping fences, and nearly fell on her way up. Dally had already passed her up and was on the other side when she froze.

The fence was a pretty good size, blocking the "back yards" of some apartment buildings. "Oh no...she's not gonna jump," Connie said, standing next to Johnny. "She broke her leg the last time she jumped from something."

"Alice, c'mon! You have to jump," Dally called up to her.

"Dal, the cops are gonna see us. I know they saw us run down here, man," Johnny said, his eyes wide. Dally swore, looking around for maybe an old matress. There were none; he doubted Alice would have jumped onto it either way.

"Kid, you aren't gonna fall. I'm not gonna let you, just jump."

"How do you know? I'll just climb down!"

"We don't have enough time for you to climb down, kid. You have to jump."

"...Promise."

"C'mon kid, we don't-"

"You have to promise! Promise you won't let me fall! Promise me you won't let me get hurt!"

Dally swore again and looked at Connie and Johnny, helpless. "C'mon man, just promise her. I can hear the cops comin' this way, they probably caught some of the other kids that were runnin' this way already."

"Kid-"

"Dallas, I'm not jumping."

Dally walked up to the fence, standing underneath her. "Alice, I promise you won't get hurt. I'm right here, but you have to jump."

She looked terrified, sitting up on the fence; like a child whose mother had told her to jump from a second story window to get out of a fire. Alice moved, so that she was holding onto the top of the fence, her feet firmly in the chain links, her back to them; then she jumped.

For a moment, Dally thought he might not catch her, but she landed safely in his arms, before he fell to the ground. Alice was shaking, the color drained from her face. Connie helped her up as the police ran up to the fence and Dally got to his feet, leading the way back to Aunt Hannah's apartment.

xxxx

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have gotten in the way," Alice wailed, standing in an alley way a block away from her Aunt's apartment. Dally and Johnny were bruised up pretty badly and Johnny's nose was bleeding, but Connie was helping him stop the blood from getting everywhere.

"Alice, it ain't your fault. They probably would have all jumped on me anyway. 'Sides, you weren't the one that punched that guy out."

"But I shouldn't have gotten in the way. I'm sorry! I just didn't want to see you and Johnny get hurt!"

"We're already dead Alice, it wouldn't have mattered."

"C'mon Johnny, I think we might have to go up to the apartment to clean you up..." Connie muttered, tossing her bloody handkerchief on the ground. Johnny just nodded and slowly disappeared as Connie stood up and walked the rest of the way to the apartment building.

"It matters to me Dally," Alice said sadly, wiping her eyes with her hands. "I know you're dead, but...I forget sometimes. You don't seem dead to me at all Dallas..." Alice admitted, shaking her head.

"Well, ya need to learn that I'm dead then. You could have gotten hurt back there-"

"That doesn't matter Dally! I just couldn't stand aside and let them beat you up! I care about you Dally. You're like...like my friend with the bad attitude to me, not just some dead guy," Alice laughed wiping the tears off of her face. "I never told you. I figured you'd make fun of me or somethin'."

Dally stood there, looking down the alley way. "I am just some dead guy Alice. Just another hood that got shot down and I don't want you fussin' over me. It ain't gonna help ya. And you better get back to your Aunt's, before she throws a fit wonderin' where the fuck you are."

Alice just stood there, sniffling. Dally glared at her before looking back down the alley way. "C'mon, I'll walk ya back," Dally muttered, walking to the sidewalk with Alice next to him. "Just stop cryin'...someone's gonna think somethin' happened to ya and call the cops."

xxxx

Connie and Alice spent the rest of that week shopping with Aunt Hannah. They finally managed to find a gift that Connie could give to her when Aunt Hannah started swooning over a new kitchen set. Alice had been a bit confused, since her aunt had never been one for cooking. But Connie and Alice went out while Aunt Hannah went to buy food and bought her the kitchen set.

They had been searching for some sort of gift for Johnny and Dally, who had been yelled at by Julie and Bobby for getting into a fight. Leann had told Alice about it, after Julie had told her.

"I was at work when it happened, so I didn't hear about it until after I got back. Dally and Johnny were gone by then. Julie was annoyed the rest of the day."

Alice had been vaguely reminded of how rumors got around at school. _'And I heard that he said that she said...'_

Alice's mother and aunt had suggested a few things to give to Dallas and Johnny, figuring that the girls wanted to give them their presents when they got back.

"Why not give them something you can only get in New York?"

"Nah, that'll probably just make them feel bad that they didn't get to come," Aunt Hannah pointed out. "You should buy them a new record."

"What if they already have it?"

"That's a good point...how about you give them some mistletoe?"

"No, Connie's afraid of Dally and Johnny would probably die of shock."

"Oh, but what you'll give it to Dally?"

"What? Mom, no! That's just weird! I don't like him like that and I doubt he likes me like that either!"

"But it'll be worth the look on his face I bet," Aunt Hannah said with a laugh.

"No, because then he'll think I like him like that and I don't. That'd be like leading him on."

"Oh, but that's where all the fun is!"

"No! We're not giving them mistletoe!"

xxxx

But Christmas was on their backs sooner than they expected and Alice and Connie were up late wrapping their gifts. At one point, Alice had to sit in the closet and wrap her gift for Connie, which Connie bugged her about because she had Alice's wrapped already.

"Did you think of anything to give Dally yet? You could at least make it a late present."

"No, but I'm going to ask him about that necklace. I'm almost positive it's mine. I called Tony's mother to ask her to look for it and she said it wasn't there."

"Huh...wonder why he took it," Connie said as they walked to the living room and placed their wrapped gifts under the tiny tree they had decorated that night, listening to Christmas music and singing it. So even though the lights were off in the living room, the Christmas lights on the tree and in various other places were giving the room a soft glow. So the girls decided to sit in the living room instead.

Alice sighed as she grabbed a pillow and lay down on the floor. "I dunno...maybe he wanted to see if I would notice it was missing. I don't even know when he took it. He always has that damn jacket I gave him on, so I can never really see his neck or anything."

"He never takes it off?" Connie asked, looking down at her from the couch. She seemed surprised. "It sounds to me like he has a thing for you Al."

Alice snorted. "Yeah, right. You're being stupid."

"Well, you didn't hesitate to accuse me that I had a thing for him, even though I said you were being stupid...so I'm sticking by what I think."

"He doesn't have a thing for me Connie...I think he just...latches onto anything good that comes around, ya know? He really misses his friends back in Tulsa. I'm really the only one he ever sees now."

"Hmm...maybe," Connie agreed, rolling onto her back. "I guess I would be the same way. Was his life really that bad before?"

"Dunno. He doesn't tell me much about it, I just know about the friends he had. They were like a gang, ya know? Looking out for each other and getting into fights with other people. He said none of them had really good lives, except for Soda and his brothers, 'cause of their parents. But he said they died."

"That's too bad," Connie muttered. "You think you'll have a lot of letters from Soda, when you get back?"

"Dunno...I told him we were going on vacation...I'm sure Paul had mentioned it too. We always go the same time of year. That'd be nice though, seeing a letter from him when I get back."

Connie sighed, a dreamy smile on her face. "Oh, you're life just seems so...romantic now Alice. An angel that _might_ have a thing for you-"

"He doesn't."

"And a handsome soldier sending you letters from war, telling you all sorts of things. As if you had known each other forever! That just strikes me as very romantic."

"He's also 18 already. I'm not even 17 yet," Alice pointed out, feeling very relaxed on the living room floor near the Christmas tree and it's soft glow.

"A minor technicality," Connie said with a wave of her hand. "I can't wait until you meet him. Who knows? Maybe it'll be love at first sight."

"I swear, you sound more like Donna everyday. We aren't going to just fall head over heels for each other Connie, it's not how it works in real life. We'll probably just be friends, _if_ we ever meet."

Connie just gave a happy, "Hmmm." and rolled over so her back was to Alice. "It'd still be nice though...I wish that would happen to me one day."

Alice didn't say anything. Once Connie turned her back to you, it usually meant she was going to sleep; conversation over. So Alice stared at the Christmas tree and the presents for awhile, thinking about the small gifts for Johnny and Dally that she and Connie had bought. The gifts were from both of them, but Connie had insisted that Alice get something just from her for Dallas. Alice had pointed out they were already giving him the best gift they could think of.

That was the only reason Connie kept pestering her about Dally's gift, even though Alice had assured her he wouldn't care if he got one just from her or not. She felt it would be nice, considering he was her guardian angel and all.

_"Well, what about your guardian?" _

_"What about my guardian? I've never met them. I didn't even know I had one until Johnny mentioned it." _

_"...Lucky." _

Alice smiled and rolled over, closing her eyes. She didn't want to be tired on Christmas morning.

* * *

_My sister pointed out that it **did** sound like Dally has a thing for Alice...I don't care, they aren't getting together and that's that. _

_Fin. _


	17. Christmas Presents and Letters

_Ta-da! Next chapter. I'm so quick it's scary. I don't know if I mentioned it, but there's a link in my profile to a picture I drew of Alice...even if I did mention it, just a reminder. It's just for a general idea of what I imagined Alice to look like. _

_Yup...I really want Portillos..._

* * *

Chapter 16: Christmas Presents and Letters

"Merry Christmas, girls! Let's wake up and open those presents!" Aunt Hannah cried, sounding like an excited child. Alice rubbed her eyes, looking up at her aunt from the floor. Her mother was in the kitchen, making tea, from what she could tell.

"Why don't you open your's first? I'm still kind of tired," Alice said, sitting up as Connie yawned and opened her eyes. Aunt Hannah didn't disagree and grabbed her gift, ripping the paper off. She gave an excited squeal and thanked Connie about a thousand times.

"I'm making the best breakfast you girls have ever had!" she announced happily, dashing into the kitchen. Jean raised her eyebrows as her sister hurried past her, but only shook her head and sat down on a chair to watch the girls open their gifts. The beginning was unenthusiastic as usual as the girls fought through their drowsiness, but soon enough it was a flurry of paper and thank you's and squeals.

"Alright! Breakfast is served!"

"I'd feel safer if you ate some first Hannah. If you don't die, I might eat breakfast."

"Oh, shut up, Jean."

xxxx

Alice and Connie waited nervously for Johnny and Dally to show up. They were waiting near a park, since it was pretty much empty on Christmas morning.

"Hey, guys...Merry Christmas," Johnny said with a small smile, his shoulders hunched against the wind. Dally sauntered up behind him, smoking a cigarette.

"Nice hat," He said with a grin, eyeing the winter cap on Alice's head. Alice flushed. She didn't think it was that bad; it was red and her Aunt had made it herself, so she had promised she'd wear it.

"My aunt made it and I think it looks fine, so don't you dare make fun of it," Alice warned, glaring at Dally. She had his gift in her gloved hands and she could simply throw it away if she wanted to. But it had taken awhile to get it, so she wasn't in a hurry. Dally held up his hands.

"Hey, I wasn't makin' fun of it...who's gifts are those?" He asked, flicking the cigarette away and nodding to them.

"They're for you two," Connie said, holding hers out to Johnny. "Merry Christmas."

Alice held hers out to Dally, looking a bit impatient. "They're from both of us. We figured it'd be the only thing you'd actually like."

"Took us forever to convince the guy to let us buy them," Connie added as Johnny hesitantly unwrapped his. Dally just stared at the gift in his hands, looking a bit dumbstruck.

"Hey man, look at this! I think this thing would have made Two-bit jealous!" Johnny said excitedly, holding out his gift for Dally to see.

"How'd you guys manage to buy these?" Dally asked, taking the switchblade from Johnny's hand and looking at it.

"I told you, it took us forever to convince the guy to let us buy them. Said he couldn't sell them to minors, so I told him I was turning 18 in a week. He finally gave in and let me buy them, since he refused to take Alice's money."

"We don't know anything about those things, but I remember you mentioning how Johnny had one and how one of your friends had one, so we figured you'd like them."

"We also figured that Johnny wouldn't have his with him anymore," Connie added. "And even if you did, a new one couldn't hurt."

"This must have cost a lot," Johnny said quietly, taking the blade back from Dally to look at it again, while Dallas unwrapped his.

"It was my mom's money, we didn't care," Alice said with a shrug.

"But we don't have anythin' to give you," Johnny pointed out.

"That's okay, we got enough stuff already. We weren't expecting anything in return anyway, we just wanted to give you two something," Alice said, shoving her hands in her coatpockets and hunching her shoulders as the wind blew by again.

"Well thanks...this is great, really, thanks a lot," Johnny said, brushing his thumb gently along the handle. Dally didn't hesitate to try his out, flipping it open and staring at the reflective metal.

"Hey, Alice, maybe I should try this out on your hair, huh? You got too much of it anyway," Dally said with a smirk, walking over and reaching for her hair. Alice ducked and moved away.

"No way are you touchin' my hair, Dally. I already told you I'm not cutting it."

"Cool it, kid, I'm just kiddin'," Dally said easily, putting the blade away. "You still have too much of it though."

"He has a point Alice...maybe you should get it cut...I have some money, we could go get it cut now," Connie suggested. Alice stared at her friend, feeling betrayed.

"Connie! You're supposed to be on my side!" Alice said, moving away from her as well and hiding behind Johnny. She had to duck down a little, since they were about the same size, though Johnny was a bit shorter, but she didn't care. "Johnny'll stick up for me, won't you Johnny?"

Johnny looked up at Dally and back at Alice. "I guess I will. It's your hair, I can't tell ya what to do with it."

"Ha! At least Johnny is nice and considering what I want, unlike you two."

"Johnny, lookit all that hair. She don't need that much anyway," Dally pointed out.

"C'mon Dal, leave her alone. If she doesn't want to get her hair cut you shouldn't make her."

Dallas glared at him for a moment, before flipping the collar of his coat up and taking a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it. "Fine...she can keep her curtain of hair...like fuckin' Rapunzel or somethin'," Dally muttered, smoking his cigarette.

Alice smiled and gave Johnny a hug, "Thanks Johnny. I knew you'd help me out."

Johnny blushed and looked away, muttering that it wasn't that big of a deal. Dally was smirking, teasing Johnny for being afraid of girls, before he had to move out of the way of Johnny's punch.

Connie smiled, rubbing her hands together before putting them in her coat pockets. "Merry Christmas."

"Yeah, Merry Christmas," Alice agreed, watching the two friends wrestle, before Johnny gave up, laughing. Dally was grinning like a wolf. _'The best Christmas I've had in awhile,' _Alice thought with a smile, as the four of them made their way to get something to eat.

xxxx

Alice was sitting across from Dally, watching the smoke waft from his cigarette while Connie tried to beat Johnny's score at Pinball. They had stopped at a small restaurant that was apparently left open on Christmas because the family lived right above the shop. It served small slices of pizza or sandwhiches and since no one wanted pizza for lunch, they had each gotten a sandwhich.

Alice narrowed her eyes, catching the glint of light off of metal around Dally's neck. "Hey, Dally? What's that on your neck?"

Dally looked over at her, before looking down and grabbing the chain around his neck. He pulled it out of his shirt and held it up for her to see, a small smirk on his face.

"...Is that mine?"

Dally nodded. "Yeah. I've been usin' it to light my matches if there's nothin' else to use. Ya want it back?"

Alice stared at him for a moment. "Why'd you take it?"

"Dunno...I saw it lyin' around so I picked it up to look at it...I guess I put it on and hid it in my shirt 'cause you were walkin' in or somethin'. I think I took it the first week I met you."

"You've been using my St. Christopher medal to light your matches?" Alice asked in disbelief. Dally shrugged taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"You can take it back," He said, setting his cigarette in an ash tray and reaching up to take it off.

"No."

Dally raised his eybrows, his hands still on the clasp that held the necklace on. "No?"

"I want you to have it," Alice said quietly, looking down at the table. "Consider it a present."

Dally slowly moved his hands away from the necklace, studying Alice carefully. Not even Sylvia had wanted to give him anything of hers...but here was Alice, giving him a necklace he had stolen from her, as a present.

"A present...you already gave me a present today Alice," Dally pointed out, waiting for her to change her mind and ask for it back. She just shrugged.

"That was from Connie too...consider that a present from just me. I mean, Julie had to get a new assignment even though her person didn't die right? If you have to leave...I want you to have that necklace. Even if you don't leave, I want you to have it. Sort of like something to remember me..." Alice explained, shrugging again. She refused to look at him. Maybe because she was worried about the look he was giving her.

Dally stared at the smoke rising from the abandoned cigarette in the ash tray, thinking all of this over. "Alice, remember a few days ago, what you told me?"

Alice looked up, surprised. She racked her brain for the answer. "That I cared about you? You aren't looking into it are you? 'Cause it ain't like that."

"Cool it, I ain't lookin' into anythin'," Dally said irritably. "Is that why you want me to have this necklace?"

"...Why, do you not want it? I'll take it back."

"Alice, will you just cool it? You're havin' a cow over nothin'," Dally snapped. He really didn't like her assuming everything, especially since he probably wouldn't be this nice again. "I ain't sayin' I wanna give the necklace back. I just..." Dally paused, looking over at Johnny. Connie was trying to distract him, but he was just grinning as his score went up.

"I ain't used to this kind of stuff...dig?"

Alice just nodded. Dally figured she understood; she had probably guessed that feeling anything wasn't a strong point for Dally.

"Not even my girlfriend would have given me somethin' like this...so thank you," Dally said, keeping any emotion out of the statement. Alice just smiled. Dally glanced down at his hand, at the ring he had used to give away to what ever girl he wanted to be his. He didn't really need it for that anymore...biting back a sigh, Dally slipped the ring off and grabbed Alice's hand, before dropping it in her palm.

He didn't say anything, just sat back and picked up what was left of his cigarette and smoked it. Alice didn't say anything either. She just quietly stared at the ring, before slipping it into her coat pocket. Dally knew why; both Connie and Johnny would recognize the ring and wonder why Alice had it if she wore it. Johnny also knew why he used to give away the ring.

"Thank you, Dally."

xxxx

That Christmas night Connie, Alice and her mother were back on the train to make it home in time for New Years. Connie had to be home to celebrate it with her family and Alice was just anxious to see Paul. She wasn't sure if he'd be there before, after or even on New Years, so at the moment, she was just a ball of nerves.

The train ride back was dull and most of the time the girls either slept, ate, or played I Spy, but they quickly dropped that game. There wasn't much to Spy on a train except for people and the scenary moved to fast.

After they had arrived back home, Connie's parents were waiting for her at the train station. They said their thank you's and apologized for any trouble that Connie may have caused, which both Alice and Jean assured them was none.

Alice had been hoping that Paul would be waiting inside when they got home, but the house was empty. So, Alice wandered over to the coffee table where the mail lay and sorted through it. There were two letters addressed to her, which she took upstairs to her room to read. Her mother could be nosy sometimes.

xxxx

_Dear Alice,_

_Merry Early/Late Christmas. Since, I had to write this letter now and since you probably won't see it until after Christmas. I hope Dally doesn't make your Christmas a drag. He was never really one for the holiday. _

_The other's that aren't going home have been getting presents all month. Little things, like pictures, or something of their girlfriend's or somethin'. My brothers sent me a letter saying Merry Christmas and that my present probably wouldn't be allowed to be given to me. I really hope it's a car...or maybe Sandy. I know that's a weird present, but that'd be really great. _

_Your brother gave me his picture of you, sayin' that you had others at home and that he wouldn't really need it once he got there anyway. It's kinda nice, bein' able to look at the picture while I read the letters you sent me. I like to guess what your face would look like while you were writting it, or what you look like when you talk. _

_It's pretty funny sometimes. Paul told me you used be able to make some funny faces and do funny voices befor your dad died. _

_The other guys keep askin' if you're the girl waitin' for me to come home. I just tell them "Sort of". They laugh, of corse, teasing me that I haven't asked you yet, or that I'm just wishing you were the one waiting for me. But I only say sort of 'cause, well, you are waitin' for me to get back, right? But you aren't my girl. _

_Tank nearly got shot the other day. Now the 'Nams seem more bent on killin' our dogs then our soldiers. I worry about him, since I'd be crushed if he got shot. Some of the guys tell me that since the dogs can't be pets anymore, that they'll probably just leave them here. I don't think they'd do that. I mean, they could be police dogs, right?_

_Well, I'm supposed to be sleepin' so I gotta go. _

_-Sodapop P. Curtis_

xxxx

Alice opened the next letter, looking at the hand writing in confusion. She didn't recognize it.

xxxx

_Dear Alice,_

_This is Ponyboy Curtis, Soda's younger brother...you're probably wondering why I'm sending you a letter, but Soda said he wanted me too. Or at least, that's what the doctor told me. They had to get your address from your brother before he left. I'd imagine he'd be there in a few days. _

_Soda got shot, but we don't know how bad it is yet, since we just got word today. They say they aren't sure he'll make it, but Soda can't die...I know he'll be okay. _

_But he kept telling the doctors, "Tell Alice I'll be okay. Make sure she knows." _

_If Soda says he'll be okay, he has to be, right? Soda's not a liar. He only cheats at cards, so he wouldn't lie and say he was okay if he wasn't. I dunno what I'll do if I lose him...I dunno what any of us back home would do. He's really the only thing that keeps us going anymore. _

_I don't know who you are, since Soda only mentioned that he's been getting letters from someone's sister as well, but he really wants to meet you. Heck, I think we all do. To us, you're just a mystery girl that's been cheering Soda on. That's how I know Soda'll be okay. _

_'Cause Soda wants to get home and be with his family and friends again and he wants to meet the sister that's been cheering him on too. And when Soda wants somethin' he's pretty determined about gettin' it. He can really set his mind to things if he wants to. Well, things that don't concern school anyway._

_I have to finish up to get this in the mailbox before the mailman comes around...I guess I'll see ya around sometime._

_-Ponyboy Curtis_

xxxx

Alice was staring at the letter when Dally appeared. He recognized the look on her face; he had seen it often enough when he had first started. The same listless, empty look.

Alice had spiraled down again and Dally couldn't even help her. After he read the letter, he spiraled down as well; becoming the same cold person who had sworn he would never care again... and he was determined to keep his word.

* * *

_I can only imagine how many people are going to say, "Soda got shot? How could you! You fiend!" _

_How could I? How could I! It was simple...I just typed out "Soda got shot." It took me about two seconds. That's how. Haha, I'm so snappy...Have fun Honey Bunches. _


	18. Guess Who's Home Guess Who's Not

_Yeah, I was supposed to post three more chapters today, but I don't like 18 or 19. 18 is done, but some things are bugging me (mostly, I'm worried about reactions); 19 is under total reconstruction. _

_I also started a story that I think could be a companion or...spin off or something. I dunno, not done yet. I'm writing it in a notebook so I can take it to school when it starts and I probably won't post it 'till I'm done. _

_Anywho, read on, you Running Addicts, you. _

* * *

Chapter 17: Guess Who's Home; Guess Who's Not

Alice tried her best to push the thought of Soda out of her mind, so she took his picture and note down and asked her mother to hide the letters he had sent. Her mother was curious, but didn't ask why.

Alice hadn't demanded that every trace of her father be erased when he had died, though it had made her breakdown the first week to see him smiling in the family picture hanging on the living room wall. She remembered that Paul had spent a lot of time just sitting, staring at the picture. He had been snappy and mean after he died, which was why Dallas reminded her of him.

And she was seeing Paul more than ever in Dallas. After he had read the letter she watched him revert back to the Dallas Winston she had met months ago. But he didn't take his ring back, or drop her necklace back on her dresser where it had lay for years like Alice thought he would. In fact, when Dally was really annoyed, he would sit at Alice's desk and hold his head in one hand and fiddle with the necklace with the other. Sometimes he would bite at the medal, before disappearing to smoke a cigarette.

Alice avoided him when he was like that, remembering how easily they set each other off and argued. She actually found that spending time with Linda, who prefered to not focus on anything bad, was helpful. With her scathing humor and black and white outlook on life, she was a definate change from Connie, who constantly worried.

"Ya know, I saw Dallas the other day, walking around the neighborhood. Andrew tried to talk to him, but he just gave him the bird and kept walking. God...he's exciting, isn't he? If I didn't have my sights set on Andrew, I'd be going after your cousin," Linda laughed. "Weird, huh?"

"Uh, yeah, just a little. How are things with Andrew?"

"Oh, I dunno. I think I might be getting somewhere, but I can never tell with him. He's never been blatant with that sort of thing, ya know?"

"I would hope I know, I've known him for half my life."

"That's true. Hey, ya think Paul's gonna be home soon? New Year's is what, two days away?"

"Yeah, two days away. I'm hoping he'll be home today, actually. I think I'm going insane with anxiety," Alice said as they waited at the street corner to cross the street. They were walking back to Linda's house, to drop her off before dinner.

"I think you've already gone insane," Linda said with a laugh as they crossed the street.

"Well, it's takes one to know one, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it probably does."

xxxx

Alice pushed open the front door, humming. "Guess who's home," Alice sang loudly.

"Why don't you?" Her mother sang back from the kitchen. Alice rolled her eyes, dropping her coat on the couch.

"Could it be, oh, I dunno, you maybe?" Alice asked, walking into the kitchen. Alice screamed as someone grabbed her round the waist and yelled in her ear.

"Wrong!"

Alice laughed, shaking as she slumped over, hanging over the person's arms like a rag doll.

"How ya been, baby sister?"

"I'd be better if I wasn't suffering from a mild heart attack," Alice said, still hanging over her brother's arms. Paul laughed and picked her up, hugging her.

"You gonna take that ribbon out of your hair?" Paul asked, holding up Alice as if she were a ten year old again. Their mother walked out of the kitchen, leaving the two siblings alone.

"Not 'till Soda's back home," Alice said with a smile, poking her brother in the forehead. "You weren't the only one I was waiting for."

Paul laughed, hugging his sister again. "God, I missed you so much, Ally..." Paul whispered, warming up Alice's cold ear with his breath.

"I missed you too, Paul...I'm so glad you're home."

"So am I, little sister, so am I."

It was around that time that Alice realized she was crying, but she knew Paul probably wouldn't say anything. He was crying too.

xxxx

Dally was sitting in that damn field again, waiting for Johnny to recieve his next assignment. It felt like it was taking another year, but Leann reassured him it hadn't been that long, probably only about an hour. Leann had fallen asleep, mostly out of boredom, a few minutes ago, so Dally was waiting with nothing much to do.

"Dallas!"

Dally groaned. Julie again. "What'd I do now?"

"Nothing, it's just that Alice's brother came home today," Julie said sitting down next to him.

"So? I already knew he was going to be back. Got anything I don't know?"

"Uh, yeah, I always do, you should know that by now. You probably won't be needed anymore, now that her brother is back."

Dally stared at Julie, dumbfounded. That was definately something he didn't know. "What?"

"You'll have to get a new assignment. She has her brother to look out for her again. Since you haven't helped enough people-"

"No, I know that...how is her brother gonna be able to help her?"

"...It's her brother. Besides, she'll probably be able to help him too. He'll probably have a lot of nightmares because of the war."

"Well, he won't be much use then."

"Dally...you aren't supposed to get attatched to your charges. Besides, I didn't think you'd care."

"I don't care," Dallas bit out. "But I was only there for a few months."

"Then you'll just have to help more people for a longer amount of time to make up for it. Different Guardians are needed for different stages in life. I guess you aren't suited for the next stage."

_In other words, I'm not a good enough person to support Alice. _Dally thought bitterly. He had guessed he wouldn't be well suited for being a guardian to anyone, but especially not Alice. She needed a lot of support, someont that was caring and would show it. Not something that Dally was skilled at.

"Should I go wait in line behind Johnny?" Dally asked snidely, his smile anything but sincere.

"I never said you had to go now. You can say goodbye if you want."

Dally thought this over for a moment, fiddling with his necklace, before standing up and disappearing.

* * *

_(Insert big dramatic sigh here) So...ugh. I dunno, I'm tired and my sister's playing the flute, so I can't think..._


	19. Meanwhile Across The World

_This chapter is most definately the property of ArtemisRex, who begged me to have this interaction and I think unintentionally handed me a chapter, thatI liked, that could fill up some time until I figure out the next chapter. _

_Still in the Balance, with Mister Greek God Come To Earth. My sister attacked me (literally) when I told her Soda was shot. I'm surprised no one else did (and grateful). _

_On with the reading, you Running Addicts, you. _

* * *

Chapter 18: Meanwhile Across The World

Soda groaned, slowly moving a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. It was definately a very slow, very painstaking movement, since any movement at all sent a searing pain shooting through his whole body. But the sweat was starting to get on his nerves, so he gritted his teeth and beared it. He was pretty sure he had a fever...

He wasn't really surprised, he was pretty sure that getting shot in the side would make anyone feel a bit feverish. He remembered someone carrying him back...and the doctors that were here talking about having to wait. _Wait for what? For the damn thing to rust in my side and poison me?_

_"Hey." _

Soda slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the person standing above him. "Oh God...did I die already?"

_"No, you didn't die. I can't believe you man, you dodged bullets for sixteen years and you get shot in a fuckin' jungle on the other side of the world." _

"I never dodged bullets..." Soda muttered, wincing. "I never hung around people that carried heaters."

_"Hung around with me, didn't ya?" _

"Yeah...guess I did...did you shoot at me all those years? Is that what you're saying?"

_"Shit, man, I don't think even I could shoot you. Wouldn't be able to bring myself to do it, no matter how annoyin' you get." _

"Whaddya doin' here Dal?"

_"Droppin' in...those doctors just leavin' ya here? Shouldn't they be shippin' you back to America? At least to a real hospital...damn bastards. I hate doctors man." _

"I dunno...I have no idea what's goin' on Dal...Paul make it home okay? Heard it was dangerous for people to be flying out of here; 'Nams are tryin' to take down the planes."

Dally stiffened at the mention of Paul. _"Yeah, he's home." _

Soda smiled, a dazed sort of look on his face. "I bet Alice was so happy. She gotta nice smile Dal? All I got is her picture, how's it look in real life?"

_"Ya know I ain't lookin' at girl's smiles. I haven't noticed much about her...can't get anythin' out of it; Angels can't have sex. Drag, ain't it? I ain't gonna like heaven much, if I make it there." _

"'Course you'll make it there, Dal...jus' help a lot of people, right?"

_"...Did you even hear what you just said?" _

"Yeah, I think I did. Really, though, Dal, what she like?"

_"Why, you thinkin' 'bout stealin' her away and gettin' hitched somewhere?" _

"I dunno man...maybe, couldn't hurt right?" Soda said with a grin. It was nice to talk to Dally again, even though he hadn't been his favorite. He hadn't spoken to someone in such a long time, but he made sure to keep his voice low; he didn't want to wake up the people next to him. Dally didn't even smirk.

"Why, you like her?"

_"Where the fuck did that come from? I didn't even mention that. I was just wonderin' if you were serious." _

"Dunno. She seems like a nice girl."

_"She's got problems Soda. Real problems, ones I don't think you could deal with," _Dally said seriously. Soda was a bit surprised, he had never heard Dally talk like that about someone.

"Thought you were s'posed to help her with those."

_"I tried, man, okay? It ain't easy for me to help someone I don't know and you didn't help, getting yourself fuckin' shot! She's lucky her brother came home when he did or she probably would have lost it! I can only imagine what your brothers and Two-bit and Steve must be goin' through." _

"I think Steve got drafted. He wouldn't know yet, I only got shot about a week ago."

_"Yeah, big fuckin' difference that made." _

"Hey, it was me or the dog-"

_"A dog? You got shot because of a damn dog?" _Dally practically hissed.

"That dog is more important than I am, Dal. He's probably the one thing that's kept me alive this long."

_"That and the thought of fuckin' Alice when you get home right?" _

Soda grabbed onto Dally's jacket and yanked him down, before grabbing onto his shirt collar. He clenched his jaw, waiting for the pain to pass. "Say that again," Soda said dangerously, his eyes practically blazing in anger. Dally glared at him, but kept his mouth shut. "If you weren't already dead and if I could move, I'd kill you right now Dallas Winston. Don't you ever fuckin' say anything like that again."

Soda let go of Dally's shirt after pushing him away slightly. Dally reached up and fixed a chain around his neck, the normal tough look on his face as he fixed his jacket.

"When'd you start wearing jewlery other than that ring..." Soda muttered, eyeing the chain. He looked at Dally's hands. "Where is the ring anyway?"

_"Gave it to Alice as a present. She let me keep her necklace, so I let her keep the ring." _

Soda stared at Dally for a rather long time, processing all of this in the dark of the makeshift hospital. "Thought you said you didn't like Alice."

_"I don't, I said I gave it to her as a present to keep, not a present I'm expectin' back when she fuckin' cheats on me or somethin'." _

"What's on the necklace?"

Dally bit back a sigh as he pulled the chain out from under his shirt and undid the clasp. Carefully, he handed it over. Soda squinted at it in the dark.

"I still don't know what it is."

_"St. Christopher. I dunno who he is or what he's supposed to do. I just stole it awhile back 'cause I figured it could light a match."_

Soda snorted. "You've been lighting matches on a saint?"

_"It sounds bad when you say it," _Dally muttered, digging in his pocket for a cigarette and a match. _"Give it here," _Dally said putting the cigarette in his mouth and holding out his hand. Soda dropped the medal into his hand, a smile on his face as he watched Dally put it back on, pick up the medal and strike the match against it.

Dally lit his cigarette and shook out the match, before sticking it back in his pocket. _"Works really well, for a saint." _

"Hey, Dal, you tell Alice I'm okay, huh? I feel awful knowing what she's probably going through now...I'd ask you to tell my brothers, but I don't think they could handle seeing an almost see through Dallas Winston in the house."

Dally nodded, _"Yeah, I'll tell her,"_ before fading away completely.

Soda sighed, before closing his eyes and, ignoring the sweat, falling asleep.

* * *

_Not all that long, but I like it. So hahaa! You're welcome ArtemisRex, for listening to your begging and making this chapter. _


	20. Dally Vs Paul Version 2

_Damn divider still won 't work...anywho, same chapter as the last one until you get to the middle, after Paul...er...yeah. I just wanted to leave the other one up too, to see which one people prefer, so I can figure out which one to take down. _

_By the way, I can't continue the next chapter until I know, because the interactions will be different..._

**_Edit: This version won. Because Maruader and digitaldawn said so. And so did I. _**

Chapter 19: Dallas vs Paul

Dally stood in Alice's darkened room. He had decided to take a side-trip to Tulsa, to sort give a whipser of reassurance to the gang he had left behind. He couldn't tell if they had heard him, but they did seem to be more hopeful. Then Johnny had asked him to go to his new assignment with him. Dallas had been a bit surprised when they were standing in front of Donna's house, a place he had seen only once because Alice had stopped by to drop off a book.

So it had taken him a bit longer than he had thought it would to get back to Alice and now she was sleeping. '_The one time she decides to get to bed at a decent hour...' _Dally thought bitterly, looking at the clock on her desk. 11:30 P.M. _'Wonder where the old lady is...she's usually back by ten.' _

Dally walked over to Alice's bed and sat down on the floor, looking around the room. He had gotten used to Alice's home; coming back to Alice's was like coming back to the Curtis house. He wasn't sure what he would have done if Darry told him one day that he wasn't allowed anywhere near his house, but he was pretty sure he would feel something like this. Lost.

Dallas sighed and climbed onto Alice's bed, sitting on her legs. She woke up the second he sat down, like Dallas had known she would. It worked well during the school year, or just when he wanted to get on her nerves. Alice sighed and looked at her clock. 11:39 P.M.

"Why are you waking me up now?" Alice asked, rubbing her eyes and propping herself up on her elbows. Dally wasn't sure what he should say, so he just rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. He felt a bit like Ponyboy after that, but he guessed that Ponyboy would have been able to handle this situation better.

"You're just waking me up for the hell of it, aren't you?" Alice guessed with a glare.

"Look, I'm not doing this to piss you off for once," Dally said. "I woke you up 'cause I'm supposed to leave you."

"...You're kidding, aren't you? Another trick, right?"

"Alice-"

"You aren't kidding."

xxxx

Paul sighed, hearing his sister's muffled talking through his bedroom wall. It was sort of comforting, to hear his baby sister talking in the next room, but a few times he had woken up in a panic, thinking that somehow, she had gotten herself to 'Nam and that he needed to get her home.

More and more often he was having nightmares, memories of the war and of people dying haunting him and preventing him from falling asleep. He hadn't mentioned them. He had just gotten home, what good would it do to worry his mother and sister?

_'Who's she talking to anyway?' _Paul wondered, slowly sitting up and pushing the covers off of him. He pulled on a pair of jeans he had found on the floor and rubbed his face with his hands, before walking out of his bedroom and into the hall. He only had to take about three steps from there and he was standing outside of Alice's door.

It was around that time that Paul realized that someone was talking back to her. It sounded like they were starting to argue, Alice's voice sounding snappy. With the fact that he was her older brother as a reassurance, he pushed open her bedroom door. Neither seemed to notice him step into the room.

It didn't take long for Paul to notice that the other person in the room was a boy, or the fact that Alice was crying. '_Well, who needs explanations when your sister is crying and there's a boy in her room right?'_

A protective brother would have launched himself at who ever had apparently broken into the house and was making his sister cry. And a protective brother Paul was, because that's exactly what he did.

Alice screamed and jumped off of the bed before Paul took the boy down. They landed on the bed and Paul heard the boy's head hit the wall, before he kneed Paul in the stomach. Paul winced and drew back his fist, but the boy managed to kick him away.

"Paul! What are you doing up?" Alice demanded as Paul stumbled back. Paul recognized the boy now; that D kid...he knew that kid had looked shifty.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Paul demanded right back. Alice glared at him for a moment, before sighing.

"Paul...you just attacked my guardian angel."

"...What the hell are you on, Alice?"

xxxx

After a lot of explaining, Paul apologized to Dallas. "I guess I should have found out what was goin' on before I took you down."

"Don't worry 'bout it," Dally muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I know people who would have done it too..." Dally trailed off, remembering the Curtis brothers again.

"You aren't really...what I think of when I hear the word Angel," Paul said, scratching his neck. Dally just grinned, a bitter play on a normally happy expression.

"Hell, I ain't what I would think of either...I forgot to tell ya Alice, Soda says to tell you he's okay."

"When did he say that?" Alice asked, hugging her legs close on her bed. She had been nodding off a few times already, mostly while she and Dallas tried to explain everything to Paul. She would probably have a bruise on her upper arm from Dally's persistant punches that would wake her up.

"Today...went to visit him. His brothers too."

"Oh..." Alice said with a sigh, closing her eyes. "That's why you were gone..."

Dally punched Alice lightly in the arm again. "Stay awake kid. I'm supposed to say goodbye and you're fallin' asleep on me."

"Why do you have to do that?" Paul asked, studying Dally carefully. The tow-headed boy was extremely hard to read...something Paul wasn't used to. Usually he wouldn't have any trouble figuring people out.

"You're home."

Paul almost winced at the bitterness he heard in Dally's voice; like he hated him for coming back home. Did he really care about Alice that much? According to Alice, and Dally as well, he had only been around for a few months. He couldn't be that torn up about it, could he?

"Come 'ere," Paul muttered, nodding his head toward Alice's door as he stood up and walked towards it. Alice had fallen asleep again by the time he pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway with Dally, who lightly kicked her bedroom door shut.

"Look man, I don't need you hating me just for coming home," Paul snapped. "You can stay forever for all I care. I'm not doin' this on purpose."

Paul watched as Dally leaned back against the wall and stare at floor. Apparently, he wasn't feeling talkative anymore, because they stood in tense silence for about five minutes before they heard the front door open. Paul looked down the stairs, seeing his mother walk into the kitchen. When he looked back, Dallas was gone.

xxxx

"Dallas?"

"Yeah yeah, gawk later," Dally snapped, pushing past Leann, who was rubbing her eyes and trying to fix her hair. Apparently, she had been sleeping...and Dally was really starting to hate people who slept at normal hours.

"Er..." Leann glanced around her apartment, which was pretty messy, but Dally didn't notice and pushed clothes and papers off the couch without even thinking twice and sat down an angry look on his face. "How the hell-"

"Johnny."

"Oh...yeah...right, of course," Leann said, sounding a little too calm about that. She waited for Dally to ask how Johnny even knew where she lived, but he just remained silent. A little concerned, Leann walked over to the couch and sat down, careful to keep a distance between them. They usually didn't talk, so she was a bit confused.

"...Did you change when you died?" Dally asked suddenly, startling Leann from the light trance she had gone into listening to the clock ticking and her own breathing.

"Huh?"

Dally only seemed to grow angrier, "Do you act different than you did before you died?"

"Yes. I'm actually a very bitter person now," Leann said simply.

"...Bull shit."

"Oh, come on, did you think I act cool and collected all of the time because I'm a timid little nice girl? I'm bitter, so I hide it by being...well...plain. Things change, because unlike the people who move on entirely, they don't really remember the feelings they had when they died or who they left behind. Heaven is a release, while Hell just won't let you rest..." Leann sighed and shifted a bit, before continuing.

"Really, being a Guardian Angel is like hell for me. I wonder if I'm being punished sometimes and I'm sure you did too."

"Who said I ever stopped thinking that?"

"No one...it's just...I noticed you acting sort of different the longer you were working. Sure, you were still an asshole, but...it wasn't as cold as before. You looked like you actually felt something other than anger. You seemed calmer, kind of. And from what Julie told me...you aren't ready to leave yet."

"Well I was just hoping it'd be a straight shot, not jumping around from person to person," Dally answered simply.

"We all did Dally. But, listen. We all became attatched to our first charges too, it's not uncommon. It's a rule we all forget and no one is blaming you for it or judging you for it. After I died I was willing to stay by anything that was even halfway decent."

"...Is that what you think? That I'm attatched because she's something good?"

"...You're pretty smart for a hood, Dally...you probably should have finished school."

"That's not interesting, Leann...you got any food?"

"Uh...I dunno...do I?" Leann muttered, standing up and walking away, a thoughtful look on her face. Dally sighed and relaxed. He had felt very anxious during that conversation, but now that Leann was off somewhere else, he decided to sleep.

_'Attatched to Alice...Dallas Winston doesn't get attatched..." _Dally thought, pushing the nagging memories of Johnny when he was alive.

xxxx

Over the next day, which happened to be New Years, Paul and Dally constantly seemed to be waging small wars with each other.

When Paul and Alice went out to ride their bikes in the afternoon, Dally demanded he use Alice's purple bike and he raced Paul. Alice tried her best at judging, but seeing the looks on their faces, she said she wasn't sure who won and they continued on their bike ride.

Or when it had been particulary cold out that morning, an unofficial competition had been set up between Dallas and Paul; who could stay outside without a coat the longest.

Well, Alice wasn't too happy about that one and threatened them with nearly everything she could think of, before finally forcing Dally to wrap his arms around her middle (which she accomplished by grabbing his arms and holding them there), after which she proceeded to shriek at the top of her lungs and flail around.

Her cries of "Rape!" got quite a bit of attention and both boys quickly ran inside the house, leaving Alice to fend for herself as one of the neighbors ran outside and others from the street stopped and looked her way.

At one point they even had a beer drinking contest and Alice simply gave up after that one, sighing and walking up to her room to call Connie and whoever else happened to be at her house. It would usually be Lauren and Donna, and they would come over and celebrate New Years together.

When Alice bounced back downstairs with the assurance that Lauren would definately bring Connie and Donna with her and Andrew to her house, Paul and Dallas were arm wrestling. When Paul was about to win, Dally suddenly let go and leapt over the coffee table and arm wrestling turned to real wrestling.

Well, since Alice was lacking in domestic skills, she couldn't very well make something for New Years alone. Besides, she didn't need broken bones and furniture right now.

"Paul..."

"Not now Alice," Paul gasped, as he rolled across the floor before hitting a wall.

"Alright, fine, I'll just go cook dinner then."

"Shit," Dally muttered, untangling himself from Paul as Alice walked away. Paul bounded after her, and that was the end of that.

_Yes, that means you have to review. Right away. Do it!_


	21. New Year's Eve

_I hate writing endings, so I hate this chapter. But for the life of me, I couldn't think of how to fix it. So it, like the chapter before it, is subject to revisions later on. So, let me know what you think. Not just "Great chapter". That does me no good. WHY was it great? _

_Long chapter...but length doesn't make up for substance..._

Chapter 21: New Year's Eve

"Alice! Alice, Alice, Alice!"

Looking up just in time to see Linda running at her, Alice quickly set her glass of juice down on the kitchen table. Linda nearly tackled her friend in a hug, her face red from the blistering wind and cold outside.

"You'll never ever, ever, believe what happened."

"Uh...uhm...Connie...has a love life?"

"Oh...well, no. But I'll work on it," Linda said, letting Alice go and pushing her hair behind her ear. "Andrew...our stud of a friend asked a certain someone out...sorry for messing up your hair."

"...Are you serious?"

"Would I lie?"

"Dead serious?"

"Without a doubt!"

Alice squealed, jumping up and down. "Oh, that's great! I can't believe it!"

"I can," Donna said, taking off her scarf as she walked into the kitchen with Connie. "Very romantic, but it would have been better if he had waited a few hours, right as the last seconds of the year were closing in. _That's_ what I wanted to see. But not with those two, oh no, always having to rush into things."

"And the good thing is, Linda's not a cheerleader, so the problem with that sort of drama isn't there. Where's your brother and Dallas?" Connie asked, rubbing her hands together.

"I dunno, they said they were gonna go get somethin'. Probably beer...I probably shouldn't have let them go, but someone had to be home. My turn to ask somethin'. Where's Andrew?"

"Ugh, he has to watch his sister...but he'll probably stop in. Maybe. But only if Bev wants to come," Linda said, picking up a tiny square of cheese and nibbling on it. "I mean, I love Beverly, but she can be such a brat sometimes."

"That's true for everyone Linda, even you," Connie said, dodging Linda's fist. "No need to get hostile."

"I am not a brat...I just think Beverly can shove it up her ass and let her brother hang out with his girlfriend."

"Brat," the other three girls chorused, before falling into a fit of giggles.

xxxx

"Seriously, you can stay if you want," Paul said as he and Dally stopped and waited for the cars to pass. Dally was ready to beat him over the head with the case of beer he was carrying and since he was worried that he would do that if he replied, Dally kept his mouth shut.

Paul sighed as they crossed the street in silence again. He had been trying to convince Dallas to stay for the past fifteen minutes and Dally hadn't budged an inch. Hell, he hadn't budged a centimeter. But depsite the fact that he and Dallas didn't get a long, he was hoping the guardian angel wouldn't leave for his sister's sake.

He didn't think he would be able to watch out for her, since the aftermath of the war hadn't faded away yet. He tensed at loud sounds and shouting sometimes and he felt unsafe walking in the open. Or he kept waiting for the person in front or next to him to suddenly go down.

Paul didn't think he would be able to do much good for her when his attention span was short and he was paranoid. Either he wouldn't be paying enough attention or he would be paying to much attention. He knew his mother could probably watch out for Alice, since she had done pretty well taking care of both of them after their father died but with her new boyfriend, she would be occupied.

He _needed _Dallas to stay.

xxxx

_"Dally," _Johhny whispered, suddenly appearing beside his friend as he and Paul waitied to cross another street. Dally glanced over at him.

_"What?" _Dally muttered. Leann had taught him the little trick of making what the living hear optional, but it still felt weird talking when you knew the person you were standing next to couldn't see who it was you were talking too.

_"I heard some bad news, man. Really bad, when I went back up to that field, 'cause Donna's at Alice's right now, so I figured she would be okay-" _

_"Johnny, in my entire life, I had never heard you ramble on like some chick." _

_"I know, it's weird, but I think I do it when I'm nervous and have to talk. But Julie was talking to Paul's guardian-" _

_"Hey, why ain't he here?" _

_"That's just it. Paul's supposed to die and Julie wasn't to happy about that. She pretty much went insane on him...Dally?" _

"Dallas? Somethin' wrong? We missed our chance to cross, man. You spaced out on me."

_"Did he say how he was supposed to die?" _

_"I dunno man, I didn't want to get in trouble for listenin' in. I don' think you should do anythin' though. What if you accidentally kill him?" _

"Dallas?"

"What?" Dally snapped, looking away from Johnny, who fidgeted with his jacket quietly.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine. We just...can't go anywhere right now. Find somewhere to sit down."

"Why?"

"Just do it, Paul," Dally ground out. Paul glared at him for a second, before looking up and down the street for a semi-clean bench to sit on. _"Johnny, I need you to get Julie." _

_"She'll be pissed man, she's workin' at her second job right now." _

_"...What the hell could possibly be that important?" _

_"Well, her job is really important to her, man. It makes her feel kinda normal. Since she can't date an' all, she has a job waitressin'." _

_"Well tell her to get her fuckin' ass over here. If she wants a date, tell her she'll get one, I just need to talk to her." _

Johnny gave him one of those desperate looks that Dally had seen quite often, before disappearing. Paul had taken to just leaning against a graffitied wall of a building, looking a bit annoyed and confused.

"Ya know, Alice is gonna worry if we take to long."

"Then find a pay phone that's three steps away and call her. 'Cause we ain't goin' anywhere right now," Dally said, looking around for anything that could potentially kill Paul. Unless the building they were leaning against suddenly blew up, Dally was pretty sure Paul was fine for now.

Paul sighed and crossed his arms, watching different cars drive by. Dally watched them too, but for other reasons. He still tensed up everytime a fancy lookin' car drove by, but he knew he didn't have to worry about Socs beating the shit out of Paul. Alice had reassured him that there weren't Socs in Chicago, just different gangs and hate crimes. And muggings.

_"Dallas Winston, you insensitive bastard," _Julie said, glaring at him as she appeared with Johnny behind her. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she had her work clothes on, but he noticed the red in her hair was gone. She must have cut it off. _"You get poor Johnny to suddenly appear at my job, make me drop about three plates and nearly get his ass kicked because you want to talk to me? Stop bein' a fuckin' pansy and get me yourself next time!" _

_"When is Paul dying?" _

Julie stared at Dallas, obviously still angry. _"You aren't supposed to know that. You can't change it. Besides, I'd think you would be happy about that. You can finish up your job quicker." _

_"I'm not going to let him die Julie and I don't fuckin' care what the hell you say. When is he dying?" _

_"He's supposed to die today." _

_"How?" _

_"He gets hit by a car." _

_"You've got to be kidding. We're still three blocks away from his house. We're surrounded by cars." _

_"Dally, please, don't do this," _Julie pleaded. It still surprised Dally how quickly she can cover up what she was feeling with something else. _"It may set you back even further, or get you a one way ticket to hell. I don't want that for you. Just let him die." _

_"Julie, if you knew someone was going to die, would you try to help them? And forget the fuckin' rules." _

_"...Do what's right or do what's easy,"_ Julie muttered, lightly scratching her head. Despite how messy her bun was, her hair was still pulled up pretty tight. It must have been hurting her head. _"I'd help them...it'd be the right thing to do, if you want to go with morals." _

_"I'm gonna do somethin' right then. Now help me keep Paul alive." _

xxxx

Paul noticed that Dally was a little more uptight than usual, waiting until there were little to no cars on the street when they were crossing and keeping him away from the street.

But he wouldn't mention why, he just snapped that he should pay better attention to what's going on. He was glad that he was only two blocks away from his house. He was feeling a bit odd, like Dallas was waiting for something bad to happen.

_"Paul!" _

Time seemed to slow down for Paul then. He wasn't sure who had called his name, because Dallas was running forward and reaching out for him, no sign of him speaking evident. It hadn't even sounded like him. Paul looked around. He was standing in the middle of the street...he guessed he hadn't been paying attention and had accidentally walked out into the street.

Dallas swore as he grabbed Paul's shirt and swung him around, making him fall on the curb of the street as Dally took his place. Paul wondered if guardian angels could actually die as he heard the car's tires leave skid marks on the street and hit something. Paul pushed himself up, ignoring the stinging sensation in his hands.

Dallas was lying in the street, having apparently gotten hit by the car and tossed over the hood. The owner of said car had swerved and was in the middle of the intersection, other cars stopping around the vehicle. A woman stepped out of the car, looking a bit dazed. Paul could hear people on the streets talking, a few Oh God's and 'Jesus Christ'.

A crowd was forming and he noticed a girl and a small boy kneeling next to Dally. Paul stood, his body sore from his fall on the ground, and walked over, the bloody mess not really registering as Dallas. The blonde's leg was bent at an odd angle and so was his wrist. His head was bleeding all over the pavement, the normally red substance turning black.

Paul was pretty sure Dally had cracked his skull as he fell onto the ground after falling off of the hood of the car but he felt oddly detatched from everything. He had never seen someone just suddenly die. He hadn't been home when his dad passed away. But there was Dallas, laying, bleeding, in the middle of the street surrounded by a crowd of strangers.

He had been alive just seconds ago...very alive; throwing Paul onto the ground and swearing and before that, being snappy and moody.

The girl, a blonde with curly hair pulled back in a bun was standing next to him, her hands on his shoulders. "Look at me. Paul, are you listening?"

Paul focused on her, trying to ignore the blood blending in with Dally's blonde hair. He recognized her voice. She had been the one that had called his name, the one that had stopped him from walking further into the street.

"He's fine Paul. He can't die again. He'll be fine. I've died about six times, trust me, he'll be okay."

Paul simply nodded his head, not really believing what she was saying. He had seen people hurt worse than or as bad as Dallas. They hadn't made it and seeing Dally bleeding on the ground made him forget he was already dead.

xxxx

Connie sat in front of the window in the living room, looking out for Dallas and Paul while the other girls listened to the record player and tried to figure out what to do with Alice's hair.

She had finally given in and gave her friends the control over her hair that she had been letting grow since she was thirteen. Connie jumped when she heard a small shriek from the kitchen.

"Oh my God! Donna! Why'd you cut so much off?"

"I think it looks nice..." Linda said cautiously.

"It was kind of an accident. But it'll look great, I swear! I'm not givin' you Twiggy hair or anything," Donna said over Alice's groans.

Despite her curiousity, Connie didn't move away from her post. She had been the first to worry about Paul and Dallas, since they were taking so long to get back. She guessed that Donna and Linda were trying to keep Alice distracted, because their offer to fix up her hair had been amazingly sudden.

Connie had to stop herself from shouting when she saw Johnny walking down the street with Paul and Dallas limping in between them. Grabbing her coat from the couch, she pulled it on as she ran out of the house.

"What happened?" Connie said as she ran to meet them halfway, walking backwards to look at Dallas. He was staring at the sidewalk as he walked along. "You've been gone for a really long time...did you get in another fight-"

"No," Dally mumbled, wincing. "I got hit by a car."

"What? Were you not paying attention or something?"

"Yeah...I'm fine though, so don't worry Alice or anything..."

"Dal, it's 11:30...she was worrying awhile ago," Connie said, falling in step in between him and Johnny. "Oh, hi Johnny. How have you been?"

Dallas swore, feeling some of the lingering pain in his leg and head fading away. Julie had told Johnny that it would take a while for all of the pain to go away, but he would be okay. He wondered what Alice was doing to keep herself busy...or what she would say when she saw him like this, a bloody mess.

Connie pushed open the front door, trying to get Johnny to take part in the one sided conversation, but Johnny wasn't giving in and shrugs, nods or short answers were all she was getting.

"I dunno Donna..." Alice was saying as they walked in.

"Well, look in the mirror at least."

"...What the hell did you do to my hair?"

"It's on the floor silly. I think you look very sophisticated now, Alice."

Linda peeked into the living room, taking in Dallas's appearance in surprise. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I fell," Dally said irritably, licking his cut lip gingerly. "Get me somethin' to clean all this up with will ya?"

"He fell," Linda muttered, shaking her head as she disappeared into the kitchen again.

"Well, I'll try a different style then," Donna said.

"I don't want you to make it worse, Donna!"

"I'm not gonna make it worse! C'mon, you let me do this much too it! A little more couldn't hurt, right?"

Linda walked into the living room, sighing and carrying a wet rag. "C'mere, you clutz," Linda said, beckoning Dally over. Dally glared at her but walked over.

"What's Alice bitchin' 'bout?" Dally asked, hissing as Linda gingerly began cleaning blood away from a cut on his forehead that hadn't healed yet. "Warn me next time, will ya? That shit stings."

"Stop being a pansy," Linda muttered, switching to a clean part of the rag. "Donna cut her hair but Alice thinks it's too short."

"Everything is too short compared to what she had before. Ah, shit! Gimmie that, you fuckin'..." Dally trailed off, taking the rag from Linda's hands and looking at a mirror that hung on the wall in the living room for help. He had just finished cleaning up the blood from his face and neck when a rather upset Alice slowly walked out of the kitchen.

Her hair was shorter and it looked like she had been crying for a few minutes. She glared over her shoulder at Donna, who stood in the kitchen doorway, holding a pair of scissors and biting her lip.

"Sorry, hun. But I don't think it looks that bad. It's only shoulder length, you still have enough to pull back and do stuff with. Besides, a lot of girls are getting their hair cut short. I mean...look at Twiggy. Her's is short."

"I think it looks nice," Connie added, Johnny grateful for the slow in Connie's talk. Johnny nodded his agreement and looked over at Dally, who was eyeing her hair carefuly.

Paul lifted his shoulders in a shrug, which earned him a glare from Linda. "I dunno, I'm just not used to seeing you without all your hair. You look different is all."

"Good way to start a New Year," Dally said with a laugh, tossing the bloody rag to Linda, who screeched and dropped it on the floor, pushing past Alice to wash her hands. Alice rubbed her hands against her eyes as her friends became loud and giggly, doing their best to bother Johnny.

Alice made her way over to Dally, sighing. "I hate it."

"It looks fine," Dally muttered, looking in the mirror and licking his lip again. Alice stood there, watching him.

"What happened?"

"I got hit by a car," Dally said with a shrug. "Wasn't payin' attention...I'm fine though... Really Alice, your hair ain't that bad..." Dally added, noticing her fidgeting with her hair.

"Are you leaving tonight?"

"That's the plan. Glad I got to see you get your hair cut before I left though...it was really startin' to bug me. You'll be fine without me, won't you?"

"Of course. I don't need a greasy hood to help me get through life," Alice said with a smile. Dally looked at her, wondering why he had grown so attatched to this girl. There wasn't any sexual attraction, they hadn't always gotten along, but it was getting harder for him to force himself to leave.

"You'll still visit sometimes, right? Even if I can't see you, like I can now?"

"Sure kid...what ever you want. Just keep that ring I gave ya."

"If you keep the necklace, I will."

"Shit, it lights matches better than the box, I ain't gettin' rid of that thing."

Alice snorted, looking down at the floor and fiddling with her hair again. Laughter and music made it seem like there were more people in the house and Alice kept expecting someone to bump into her as they walked to the kitchen for something to eat. "Are you worried?"

"What the fuck would I be worried about? I'm already dead. There really ain't anything else to worry about anymore."

"I mean...that you'll have to do this forever."

"Watch over bitches like you? Yeah, I guess that's somethin' to worry about ain't it?"

"Dally..." Alice whined, crossing her arms. "I'm serious."

"...Nah, I ain't worried. I don't worry about things like that. I'm learnin' my way around the rules so it ain't that bad...and I got Johnny again...and I can always pester ya if I need somethin' to do," Dally said with a shrug, looking at anything but Alice.

"Sure. Pester me anytime you want...I'll miss it."

"...You gonna give that record player back to your brother?"

"No," Alice said with a smile. Dally smirked.

"Good. I kinda like that thing...take care of yourself, hear me? Don't cause more trouble for you mom and brother than you have to."

"...What about Richard? He's the reason Mom isn't here tonight."

"He don't matter," Dally said, messing up Alice's hair, before taking out a cigarette and lighting it. "I'll see ya around kid."

"Wait a second," Alice grabbed onto Dallas's sleeve before he could turn and walk out the door. "Happy New Year Dallas," Alice said, giving him a quick kiss.

"Now get the hell out of my house," Alice said with a laugh, gently pushing him out the door. Dally smirked around his cigarette, giving her the finger as he walked down the steps, before disappearing completely.

Alice closed the door with a smile, before turning to her friends, who were grinning.

"Cousin, huh?" Linda said, her grin widening.

"Alright, alright...Dallas wasn't my cousin."

Her friends squealed, rushing at her with questions, while Paul and Johnny tried to watch TV. "Hey! You gonna count down or not?"

Alice stood in her circle of friends, holding tiny pieces of paper and glitter in her hands, bouncing slightly with each number. Alice felt lighter now, having vented quite a few things to Dallas, who in turn treated her like a normal teenager. He didn't care if her father was dead, or where her brother was. He saw her as a girl who needed to get over herself; she had, and she was thankful to Dally for not caring.

New Years was a time of new beginnings and starting over and that's what Alice planned to do as glitter and paper rained down over her and her friend's heads, remembering something her grandmother had said to her.

_"If you don't take the time to love and enjoy life and leave the past behind you, you're either going to miss everything, get lost, or fall flat on your face. Maybe even all of them. It's kind of like running in the dark. It's a dangerous, foolish thing to do. And if you do get stuck in the dark, just be patient; a light will find it's way through to you. It doesn't have to be big either, just as long as you can see it and follow it home, you'll be fine." _

**_Epilouge coming up. But, until then: Fin._**


	22. Epilouge

_I decided to try the epilouge in a sort of different way. I was thinking of the Real World episode that I remember really well, the last one and Danny rode away on his motorcycle and the screen blacked out and in white words it said he had gotten to do what he always wanted (I think). I thought I would do something kind of like that. Have something happen, then write a bit about what's going on with them. I like it...I dunno why. _

Epilouge

"So you risked your soul for Alice and her brother?"

"It wasn't that big of a deal, I just pushed him out of the way of a car."

"But you didn't have to."

"...Think I'll have to start over?"

"No, technically, you were watching out for your charge, since you hadn't left her yet. Letting her brother die would have let you stay, but Alice would have crashed right back down."

"...How's Tony been?"

"He's at the hospital, trying out a new medicine...they're really determined to make him better. He thinks he's fine, so it's taking a long time, because he has to agree to it."

"...Leann?"

"Yeah?"

"Who made the rule that we can't have sex?"

"Ya know...I don't know."

"...And no one's ever tried?"

"Well, no."

"...Then how do you know it's true?"

"Dallas!"

_Leann reluctantly agrees to continue working, thanks to Julie's pestering, but still has the option to rest. She still hates being a guardian angel, but enjoys getting to spend time with Julie and Johnny. _

_Dallas still confuses and annoys her._

xxxx

"Soda, you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake. Bored outta my mind. I think I'm goin' stir crazy in here. Ya sure I can't get up and walk around?"

"The doctor said you had to rest. Gettin' shot is a serious thing, little buddy."

"I feel better already!" Soda said, trying to sit up in his bed. "Ah...nevermind," Soda muttered, wincing and laying back down. "Hey, any mail come for me today?"

"No. I don't think she knows your home and I don't think Pony's told-"

"Darry, someone's here to see Soda," Pony called from the living room. "He awake?"

"Yeah, he's awake," Darry called back, before walking out of Soda's room. He left the door open behind him. "Maybe that'll help a little huh?"

"It ain't helpin' so far, ya wise ass," Soda muttered.

"Hello!" A surprisingly squeaky voice chirped, before someone peeked into his room. "How's the beverage?"

Soda looked up at the girl, whose top half of her body was in the doorway, her short hair pulled up in a high ponytail. He must have looked confused because she sighed and took her hair down.

"I cut my hair, but I didn't think I would look that different. That picture wasn't that old you know."

"Alice?"

"Beverage."

Soda laughed, sitting up, ignoring the pain this time. He patted the empty space on his bed. "Come here. When'd you get here?"

"This morning. I drove down here by myself, after I found my damn liscence. I spent the whole day before I left staring at the map so I wouldn't get lost. It only took about a day."

"How's Dally?"

"I dunno, I haven't seen since New Years. He has a new job, new person, blah blah blah. How have you been? Bored?"

"Laying around for weeks isn't exactly fun."

"Here, get on my back, I'll carry you around."

"Oh, of course, I forgot you were superman's twin sister," Soda said, rolling his eyes.

"How could you forget! I told you about twenty times!"

"Well, I didn't believe you. You were such a shrimpy looking girl in your picture."

Darry stood in the hallway, shaking his head and smiling. With Steve still in Vietnam and Two-bit mellowing out a bit, things had been less cheery recently. The sound of laughter was almost foreign in the Curtis house now. But Alice had said she would stay a couple of days, since her Winter Break wasn't over until the end of the week, but only if they didn't mind.

_Darry didn't mind at all and Alice stayed the rest of the week, getting to know the friends that Dallas had once spent most of his time with. Soda was up and walking by the time Alice was getting ready to leave. She visited every chance she could, and encouraged Soda to finish highschool. _

_Soda graduated with her help._

xxxx

"Paul, do you think you could help me out down here?"

"What do you need help with now, Richard?"

"You mother wants to move the furniture in the living room. Says it needs a new flow to it, now that it's a new year."

"Uh, actually, I was...gonna go drive Connie to the bookstore, so...I'll have to pass on this one."

"Paul! Connie's at church, you lying-"

"Well, it's almost over, so, I gotta go pick her up. Rain check, right?"

_Paul still hasn't been able to get rid of his nightmares, but he's able to get through the day as long as no one mentions the war. He and Connie go out for a year, before Paul goes to college, when they both agree to go seperate ways. _

_Richard and Jean marry in the spring of that year. Dallas and Julie crash the reception party. Dallas is rather proud when he informs Alice that he discovered that Guardian Angels can have sex, they just aren't supposed to. But when has he ever followed the rules? _

xxxx

"Oh really?" Donna said, tapping her pencil on a piece of notebook paper as she spoke on the phone. "Of course it's a good idea! A road trip with just the two of you is sure to try your patience with each other, but if you can last it out, than it's a sign that you can make the relationship work. Besides, you might see some pretty nice things."

_"Well, I don't want him to break up with me!" _

"Than agree that no matter how annoying you both get, you won't break up...I mean, it's not like you'll be spending that much time together all the time!"

_Donna becomes a romance novel writer once she gets to college a few years later. She never really took off, so she became a teacher instead. _

_Linda and Andrew get married after both have finished with college. They decide not to have kids until they're completely settled down. _

"Johnny! Have you seen my white hair ribbon?"

"Your mom took it. She's got that job interview today."

_Johnny decided to stay a Guardian Angel, though he was offered the choice to rest. He prefers being able to help people. Julie and Dallas are still working with him, Dallas choosing to continue working so he can stay with Johnny and be able to visit Alice like he promised and Julie continues working because you can't go down to Earth from Heaven and get wasted._

_She and Dally have an off and on relationship. _

xxxx

_Eventually, Alice adopts a young girl named Jennifer. She is a single parent, with the help of her brother, sister-in-law, and mother and stepfather. She never mentions her daughter to Soda._

**_Fin, officially._**


End file.
